From The Beginning
by Maylayn
Summary: FUTURE SLASH HPBZ The Potter’s are classified as neither Light nor Dark. When the Longbottom’s are killed, Neville becomes the BWL, what awaits Harry as he enters his first year at Hogwarts and finds himself struggling to contain his secrets?
1. Y1: Acceptance Letters

**Before you read on, please take note of the warnings given. These are put there for a reason, so that there will be no surprises when something comes up later and you suddenly realise you are reading a SLASH story. Please don't send me reviews saying that you can no longer read on after four or something chapters because you suddenly discovered this was a GAY or MALE/MALE fan fiction.**

**Title: **From The Beginning

**Fandom**: Harry Potter

**Pairing:** Harry Potter/ Blaise Zabini (doesn't come in at the beginning, far too young of course!)

**Timeline:** First Year and on to Seventh (though possibly not in the one fic)

**Rating:** M…ish, more so later on

**Summary:** Having never declared their allegiances, the Potter's are classified as neither Light nor Dark, but rather more of a Grey family. This leads to the wizarding world viewing them as less than adequate, some as traitors, and some as little more than a hindrance in the face of greater things. When the Longbottom's are killed, and Neville becomes the Boy Who Lived, what awaits Harry and his younger twin siblings in a world where any who differ from the norm have no hope?

**Warnings**: **SLASH**, as in a relationship between two males, if this is an uncomfortable subject, or you have a problem with the writing of such things, please leave now as the author will not tolerate any flaming because of this fact. **AU**, a lot of parts will be taken directly from the books, and follow parts of the **CANON **story line, as such there will be some **SPOILERS**. There is a blatant use of **OOC**ness with canon characters, and some **OC**s are introduced throughout.

**Disclaimer:** The author lays no claim to the character of Harry Potter, or any canon characters used within this fan fiction. The author does, however, lay claim to any Original Characters introduced, ideas that differ from the canon storyline and anything else that the reader does not recognise, unless stated otherwise. As this is a fan fic that starts at the beginning, some bits and pieces from the books, and perhaps even the movies, are used. These parts should be fairly obvious and belong to J K Rowling and whoever it was that made the movies. There. The author cannot be sued.

**Speech Key**

"blah blah blah." Normal speech.

"_blah blah blah._" Familiar speech, could also be word emphasis or spells.

_Blah blah blah_ Word emphasis, spells, or letters

**A/N:** I've been reading a ton of fics where they start from Harry's first year, and I've always told myself that I might one day attempt one myself, keeping it as original as is possible after the thousands that have been written so far. Here's to hoping I can do it! I took the liberty of changing Harry's middle name. My right as a fan fic author, of course. Isn't it such a grand right? And the idea of a familiar being able to change at will was partly inspired by the book** Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman** and the movie based on that book, **The Golden Compass.** Oh, and just so you know, the chapters may move slowly in the beginning, since they're following the first book a fair bit. Just a little warning if you don't like that sort of thing, but I won't be just jumping into the action with summary's for everything else.

**This is not beta'd.** I haven't actually sent this to my wonderful beta, Jess, yet. If she sends it back with any changes I'll be updating this version with the new one.

I've also yet to decide whether or not to make this one big story, or several stories. Time will only tell, I guess. And without further ado, because this intro is long enough, I give you….

**_Year One_**

**Chapter One-- Acceptance Letters**

October 1st, 1985, was in part a horrible day for the Wizarding world. Two of Wizarding Britain's best Auror's were killed at the hand of Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord himself. But on the other hand, it was close to being the best day in their history. The Dark Lord was somehow destroyed by their four-year-old son, Neville Longbottom. And all the child got was a curious scar, shaped like a lightening bolt, upon his forehead. Young Neville was given to his Grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, to care for until he was old enough to begin training with Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. For these people rightly believed that Voldemort was not truly gone, no one so Dark could be killed so easily.

And that was a misconception for the world. Light or Dark, there were prejudices so great that few could overcome them. Indeed, only a handful of families had managed to refuse any declaration of allegiance. Granted, said families removed themselves from Britain in order to keep their young children safe from angry Light supporters. One such family, was the Potter's.

James Raphael Potter had married the love of his teenage years, Lily Marie Evans, only six years previously. The couple had adamantly refused to side with the Light, as many of their friends had done, but neither did they wish to side with the Dark. It had little to do with the so-called 'Evilness' that that side seemed to possess, and more to do with the fact that they had just had their first child. Little Harry Gabriel Potter was more special than anyone would ever give him credit for, at least, not until he was much older. For the sake of this precious child, James and Lily quickly removed themselves from any area of conflict, retiring to Japan where they were guaranteed safety.

Only a year later, Lily gave birth to a beautiful pair of twins, named Adriel Lily Potter and Michael Tyson Potter. These two were just as precious and just as special as their elder brother, but just like him, no one would truly know. They stayed in Japan only until a brief, and rather vague, rumour reached the country of the supposed defeat of Voldemort. The other British families who had found peace and safety in the beautiful country, quickly made their way back to their homeland, glad that the horror was finally over.

But when the Potter's returned, they were truly horrified. Before they had left, they had personally met Voldemort, and been given the rare privilege of calling him by his given name, that of Tom Marvolo Riddle. They held no hate for him, nor did they sneer at any Dark families they may have come across. They certainly disagreed with the prejudice against Muggleborns, as Lily herself was one, but agreed heartily with the danger Muggles possessed. So many untrue tales had been spun about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, fuelled by many Dark families who thought that the ways proposed by the Dark Lord would be too slow in gaining them their freedom from the fear of Muggles, and the 'dirty' blood that continued to mix with theirs. So England now viewed the Dark with great fear, and persecuted many who did not deserve the hate.

In fact, their dear friend Remus John Lupin, a werewolf since his childhood years, and his mate, Sirius Orion Black, had been sentenced to ten years in Azkaban without so much as a trial. They fought against it of course, but when Dumbledore demanded they stay, the Ministry refused to even budge against the decision. They could do little more than visit as often as they dared, and gift Sirius with the title of Godfather to Harry and Remus to Adriel. Severus Snape, a dear childhood friend of Lily, was given the title of Godfather to Michael.

The years may have passed, far too swift for the family, and though they were still pressured into declaring their allegiances, they refused to so much as budge. In fact, Lily took up a job in the Department of Magical Creature Relations, helping to ease the tense and worried aura that surrounded the staff there. James refused to continue his Auror training, and took to maintaining the large grounds of the Potter estate, and making it as suitable as possible for any variety of magical creatures.

Harry, Adriel and Michael grew up in the most sound home within Scotland, far enough away that the politics of the Wizarding world rarely even touched them. They grew up with an assortment of odd friends, including vampires and werewolves, who took up permanent residence in the Potter estate, which was warded to protect both the inhabitants and the surrounding lands and villages. It was a wonderful way to grow, and they rarely wanted anything, but the time soon came for them to leave the tranquil paradise they had been gifted, and it came for one of them in the form of Harry's acceptance letter.

* * *

Harry yawned, stretching his arms over his head and arching his back. He blinked in the morning light and huffed in annoyance. His deep, emerald green eyes, narrowed at the sprawled figure, sleeping contentedly at the foot of the large queen sized bed. He sat up and pushed the black covers down, slipping his feet out the side and hissing at the cold floor. As he stood, he stretched once more, blearily looking around his room. He could feel, or more correctly, sense, that something was about to change.

There were only a few days left until his eleventh birthday, four to be exact, and his mother and father had been nervously leaving all the windows open from the moment they awoke. At first this had been odd, since the estate was heavily warded, but he had simply shrugged it off as another little quirk his parents had. Sighing, he turned and poked the figure on top of his covers.

There was a low, rumbling growl, before the figure hissed. The large squarish head rose and gold eyes instantly latched on to him. He grinned, as the beautiful Anistro stretched languidly before jumping nimbly onto the floor. Looking much like a Snow Leopard in their natural form, Anistro's were capable of changing their shape and form at will, and this one had been by his side since his family's time in Japan.

"Morning, Kerus."

The leopard snarled in response, flicking its tail and glaring at him. "_You ruined my sleep, young Master._"

Harry smirked, completely unrepentant. "Sorry, Ker." He turned and made his way over to his dresser, pulling open one of the top drawers. "But you know what mum said, you're not supposed to sleep on any of the beds."

"_I am your familiar._"

"And that is the only reason she even lets you sleep in the house. It's best for both of us if you stick to her rules." Harry frowned, pulling out a pair of jeans and a shirt before slamming the drawer shut. He turned and raised an eyebrow at the Anistro who had changed into a silver and black Peregrine Falcon. "At least no one can say I can't take you to Hogwarts with me."

"_But you have yet to receive your acceptance letter._" The falcon stretched its wings, before settling them once more. The golden eyes watched him unblinkingly, which was rather odd if one was not used to it. "_Should you not make sure that the letter will come first?_"

Emerald eyes blinked, before they shifted out of focus for a split second. Harry shook his head in an effort to dispel the strange foggy vision from his mind. He could see, quite clearly, a tawny owl winging its way across the land from Hogwarts. The vision was layered over his real eyesight, but he followed the owl as it glided up warm air pockets. Shaking his head again, he glared at the falcon, who merely gave an odd sort of chirping noise, which he took as laughter. Sniffing, he quickly slipped out of the grey shirt and pants he wore to bed, and pulled on the dark blue jeans and the white shirt. It was his favourite shirt, even though his mother was always trying to throw it out. Somehow, the item always found its way back to him. He suspected that Kerus had something to do with it.

Across the front, emblazoned in cursive black writing was _'If a mask and black robes makes a Death Eater...' _and on the back, _'then what does a mask, black robes and a tutu make?'_, which was accompanied by a drawing of a masked Death Eater pirouetting in a pink tutu. His mother believed that to make fun of Death Eaters would incite anger from both sides, rather than make people see that they were truly foolish in their prejudices.

"_Are you sure it's wise to wear this right now?_" Kerus winged his way over to him, settling on his shoulder and rubbing his feathery head against Harry's cheek. "_With your mother as worried as she is?_"

Harry shrugged one shoulder, careful not to upset the creature who had been accompanying him since his second birthday. "Mum'll be too worried about the letter to even notice, unless Uncle Sev is over again." He made his way out of his room, heading down the stairs onto the second floor, before stepping into the family dining room. "Besides, it's not like any one is really gonna see it any more in a few months time."

Ignoring the pointed glare from the Anistro, Harry gleefully inhaled the wondrous smells that always permeated this part of the Potter Manor. While they did have house elves, around about seven of the odd little creatures, his mother much preferred to cook for her own family, since they would only be using the small family dining room. Compared to _the_ dining room, this one was small enough to be cosy, but large enough that everyone could be seated comfortably. Coloured in soft browns and creams, it gave off an aura of homeliness, something he knew he would miss when confronted with the large stone walled Great Hall at Hogwarts. He could barely stand the huge dining room on the first floor.

His mother looked up as he pulled his chair out, slipping onto it. Her green eyes, lighter and more common than his, crinkled at the corners as she smiled at him. "Good morning, Harry, Kerus."

Harry grinned at her, admiring the way the soft lighting of the room danced through the fiery red strands of her hair like flickering flames. "Morning, mum."

"_Lily, I hope this morning has greeted you kindly?_"

Ignoring the frown on Harry's face at the formal way his familiar always greeted her, Lily gave a brilliant smile to the falcon. "Oh yes, Kerus, it has greeted me most splendidly!"

Kerus hopped onto the table, changing into a small grey tabby cat. He sat back and cocked his head to the side. "_You have seen what Harry has seen?_"

"_Harry_, happens to still be here," Harry mumbled, a frown creasing his brow.

"Of the owl that is on its way? Yes, James is just making sure the wards allow it in now." She glanced back at Harry, giving a light laugh as she set a glass of orange juice in front of him. "Stop frowning, Harry. It is not such a bad thing."

He sighed and looked up at her. "Not here, no, because everyone knows that you passed on your Sight to me. But at Hogwarts?" He anxiously shifted in his seat, gripping his hands tightly. "The other kids will think me weird enough, but to add that?"

Lily sighed and walked around the table. She crouched down and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, one lightly tanned hand stroking his raven locks. Looking him in the eyes, she said softly, "Haven't I told you not to worry so much over what other's think of you?" At his nod, she smiled a little. "Then why are you worrying then? You will be fine at Hogwarts, you don't need to tell anyone about your Sight who does not already now." She plucked at his shirt as she stood back up. "And I thought I asked you not to wear that anymore?"

Harry glared at Kerus who was giving off little snickering coughs. "I like it."

"And so do I!"

"Dad!" Harry jumped up and wrapped his arms around his father, grinning widely up at the man whose glasses wear slightly askew and whose wild raven locks stuck up in odd directions.

"'Lo, Harry, how's my big boy?"

Harry merely grinned again, before his emerald eyes latched on to the two figures walking through the door, sleepily rubbing at their eyes with fisted hands. "Morning Mike, Addy. Sleep well?"

The twins glared at him with identical hazel eyes, though Michael wore a pair of wire framed glasses. Harry and his sister had only had sight problems when they were much younger, but it seemed to have corrected itself naturally. Their own familiars, a pair of pitch-black cats of an unknown origin gave a hiss in annoyance. Kerus merely jumped down from the table and changed back into his snow leopard form. Harry rolled his eyes, butting his familiar out of the way with his knee, and pulling out the two chairs beside his own. His sister, Adriel, yawned as she slumped into her seat, her twin, Michael, slowly following suit.

"No, we did _not_ sleep well and you damn well know it!"

"Adriel!" Lily admonished as she set the plates of toast and pancakes onto the table top.

Michael frowned, his hazel eyes glaring at Harry. "Harry set some stupid prank up in our room."

"Kept us up most of the night." Adriel huffed in annoyance. "Was rather muggle like."

"Yeah, with the little white figures who kept popping up every time we tried to get into bed."

"Took hours to find the off switch."

Harry merely grinned back at them, nudging Adriel with his shoulder. "But it was funny!"

"Harry!" Lily put her hands on her hips and sternly looked down at him. "Why on earth would you want to prank your brother and sister?"

James pressed his lips together trying hard not to laugh out loud, which was making it all the more difficult for Harry to try and look sorry for the prank. Which he wasn't sorry for anyway. "Well, mum, I--."

"An owl!"

Michael giddily pointed at the open window on the left hand side of the room, where a tawny owl was indeed gliding over to them. Kerus changed back into his falcon form, gold eyes watching the larger bird. The owl flew through the window and circled the room once, before landing in front of Harry, who bit his lip in anticipation. The large amber eyes blinked slowly at him, as the owl dropped the letter it had been carrying in its beak. It gave a single hoot before taking off back through the window.

"Come on, Harry! Open it!" Michael was practically bouncing in his seat, eyes fixed on his elder brother.

"Go on, dear, open it up." His mother sat back down and gave him a gentle smile as he gingerly picked the letter up.

_Mr H Potter_

_The Forest Room on the Third Floor_

_Ancestral home of the Potter Family_

_Scotland_

His dad had told him about how the letters were always addressed quite personally, but for the sender to know his room was done in a forest theme? It was just odd, and a little more than strange. He glanced over the purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'. Slipping his thumb under the seal, he carefully broke it before pulling out the thick parchment the letter was written on. In emerald ink, just like the address, the flowing writing continued.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Harry raised an eyebrow and mentally snorted at all the titles Dumbledore had to his name. He could sense Kerus' irritation at the knowledge that they would be under the proverbial thumb of a man who was severely prejudiced and yet, was someone who claimed there was no black or white.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Harry wordlessly handed his parents the first sheet, ignoring the list of things he'd need for school. He watched as their eyes skimmed over the first line before they turned beaming faces on him. It was then that he allowed the satisfied smirk to slip onto his face. "I'm going to Hogwarts."

"That you are, Harry. Imagine! All the pranks you could get up to! Oh, I have a few things I'm sure Sirius would love me to give you…" James trailed off at the pointed glare from Lily. Hs shrugged and began to heap pancakes onto his plate.

Lily smiled again at Harry, pride and relief shining in her eyes. "I may have known it was coming Harry, but it's good to have it in writing! I suppose we'll be going to Diagon Alley on your birthday then." She waved the letter, handing it over to Michael and Adriel, who quickly snatched at it and read it several times. She looked over at the open window. "I only wish those owls would stay behind, would make it so much easier to reply…I wonder why it was so late?"

James shrugged, quickly swallowing his mouthful of pancake. "Dunno, Lils. Want me to run up to the Owlery?"

"No, no." Lily waved her hand through the air, standing up from the table once more. "I'll go and do it. You lot enjoy breakfast."

"You sure?"

"Yes, James. The stairs are fixed, aren't they?" At his nod, she bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Then I'm sure I'll be fine, won't I?"

Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face as he left the table after a filling breakfast. Kerus trotted at his heels, the large paws making no sound as they padded over the polished wooden floors. The pair made their way down another flight of stairs, finally leaving the five-story manor that had been the home of the Potter family for almost a thousand years. A sweet breeze ruffled the shaggy raven locks and whipped them over emerald eyes. Harry was endlessly proud of the fact that his hair was a cross between his father's messy locks, and his mother's smooth strands. It left him with hair so black that in the right light, one might be able to see hues of deep blue. The hair was still hard to control, but with the right style, he was able to keep it only slightly messy, looking more like he'd just rolled out of bed and merely ran a hand through it.

Kerus yawned, flashing white fangs. "_Are you going riding?_"

"Nah. I thought I might visit the Gryffs. Dad says they've given birth to a couple of new foals."

"_Is that wise?_"

Harry looked down at the leopard, smirking at the obviously worried aura rolling off the big cat. "Nothing to worry about, Ker."

Kerus growled lightly, but continued to pad along beside him. The Anistro flicked its tail as they neared the area designated for the Hippogriffs and Griffons who had taken up residency within the estate grounds. He could see the small grey Hippogriff foals darting about the adults, screeches permeating the air. He changed into his own Hippogriff form, with a silver body and black edged wings. The actual Gryffs were likely to know it was him immediately, but he felt much more comfortable knowing that he could protect Harry better in this form.

The minute they were close enough, Harry caught the eye of the ever watchful Head and bowed low, never breaking that contact. When the steel grey hippogriff bowed as well, the rest of the herd merely nodded their heads, content to ignore him and Kerus for now. Harry smiled widely and walked over to the Head, scratching behind the tufted ears and listening to the cooing noises it gave.

He spent the rest of his day merely watching the playful foals, feeling the very second when Kerus finally relaxed and shifted back to his leopard form. He was content to simply bask in the warm sun and the ever-present feeling of love that surrounded the Gryffs. There were more hippogriffs than there were griffon's, which saddened his father immensely. Griffon's were far too afraid to venture from whatever rocky mountain they had taken refuge in to even fly to the Potter estate. Ministry poachers were everywhere, ready and waiting to cull any Gryff who made the mistake of leaving their safe havens. But the numbers were slowly, gradually, increasing, with four Griffon cubs having been born since the estate had become a refuge.

As he watched the sun set, knowing that soon he would need to head back to the manor, which was obvious since his stomach was growling for food, Harry sent a prayer to whoever may be watching him, that the children of Hogwarts were not cruel enough to use his Sight against him. He never realised that as he sent that prayer out, his mother and father were desperately hoping that Albus Dumbledore would not use the ability to achieve his own ends.

**A/N:** Harry and Lily's Sight is both conscious and unconscious. At times, merely a word will trigger a vision, which is usually a present event, that will overlap their real sight and leave a foggy edge to what they are seeing. No sound can be heard, but Lily has taught Harry to tune himself in whenever possible so that the general idea of what is taking place can be understood. It's not like prophesising or anything, rather they merely have a higher brain function, which allows them to tap into the undercurrents of time and magic. Once Harry arrives at Hogwarts, he won't have the time to pay attention to these visions, so he will, in no way, have an advantage over the other students.


	2. Diagon Alley

**A/N:** I hope no one was annoyed or offended at the bold text before the first chapter began. On an LJ community I was posting this at, another member decided to pounce on me after I mentioned in a reply to a comment that I was going to be introducing the beginnings of Harry and Blaise's relationship in their second year. It got so bad that I've been refusing to post the next chapter until the moderators actually act on their 'no flame or insult' rule. Sorry guys. Anywhoo, thanks to the people who reviewed, put this on alert, favourited or even added it to some C2s, big giant baskets of cyber goodies to you all!

**Speech Key**

"blah blah blah." Normal speech.

"_blah blah blah._" Familiar speech, could also be word emphasis or spells.

_Blah blah blah_ Word emphasis, spells, or letters

**Chapter Two-- Diagon Alley**

Harry awoke the day of his birthday to two nine-almost-ten-year-olds jumping up and down on his bed. He could feel the warm fur of Kerus' ferret form curled around his neck, and he could hear the high-pitched chirps the familiar was giving off. Groaning he rolled over and stuck his head under his pillow, only to have Michael jump onto his back with an inhuman shriek of laughter.

"Harry! Harry, wake up! It's your birthday!"

"I know that." His reply was muffled by the pillow, and wasn't heard at all by either of the twins.

Adriel tugged on his grey shirt, whining pitifully, "Come on, Harry! We wanna go to Diagon!"

"Yeah! Mum says we can't go till you're ready! So, come on! Come on!"

When Adriel fell onto his back, his muscles twinged in protest and a shock of pain lanced up his spine as the weight of the twins was centred in one spot. In an instant Kerus changed back to a leopard, growling and hissing, even as the two realised that they'd hurt their brother. They climbed off and stood anxiously beside his bed. He sighed and twisted his head, bringing it out from under the pillow, emerald eyes watching them as they both bit their lips.

"Kerus, calm down." The leopard huffed and draped his head over Harry's shoulder, peering down at his face. Sitting up, Harry opened his arms and the two quickly climbed back onto his bed, snuggling up against his side.

"We're sorry, Harry."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to hurt you."

Harry grinned at them, ruffling the brown, auburn highlighted, hair affectionately. "Look, don't worry about it. How about you guys go let mum know that I'll be down soon?"

The twins grinned at him and Adriel gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before they were bounding out the door, feet pounding as they yelled out to their mother. Harry sighed and pushed the covers off of him and swung his feet onto the, once again, cold floor. He really needed to move the dark brown rug over to beside his bed. Standing up, he stretched before moving over to the walk in wardrobe set into the wall beside his dresser. Going into Diagon Alley meant meeting up with old pureblood Wizarding families. It was always easier on his family when they all dressed in robes.

Throwing a deep red robe onto his bed, he pulled out from his dresser a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt. This shirt had some random muggle band printed over the front in red letters. He didn't exactly listen to the band, but the shirt had looked cool with the dripping blood design and fake rips all over it. Underneath those rips, a soft grey material had been sewn, so that no flesh was visible. Pulling on the jeans, he slipped his feet into a pair of red and black chequered shoes. Incredibly muggle looking, the pair were spelled to keep ones feet comfortable, even if you were to shop all day without a break. He pulled the shirt on before eyeing the robe apprehensively. He always tended to dress a little different to everyone else, mixing muggle and wizard clothes together in as tasteful a fashion as he was capable of. But the old purebloods still picked at it all.

Shrugging, he pulled the red robe on. With a sigh, he made his way out of his room and down the hall, turning into the bathroom he and his siblings shared. It was almost as large as his own room, with three separate mirrors at varying heights. Somehow, the house elves had managed to fit all three of their tastes into the room, without making it too obvious. His own mirror, about a foot higher than the twins', was gold framed and surrounded by soft greens and browns on the walls. The gold edging on the mirror was designed in a leaf and vine pattern, matching his preferred forest theme perfectly.

Adriel much preferred a light and creamy theme, darkened by a deep brown that etched over the tiles and curved into his own. Her mirror was framed by mahogany and had various runes inscribed in it, since she had such an affinity for the subject. Michael had a fascination for Dragon's and, as such, the house elves had done both his room and his section of the bathroom to look as if one was looking over the landscape from a great height, with the soft blue of the sky and a mixture of greys, greens and browns. A stone dragon curled around the frame of the mirror, diamond eyes glittering in the soft lights. He was always endlessly amazed at how they all seemed to meld into one another.

Stepping in front of the mirror, he scowled at the tufts of hair sticking up all over the place. Picking up a bottle of hair potion, he squirted some into his hands, rubbing the palms together to warm the liquid up. It was much like the muggle hair wax in the way that it both helped to control his hair, and to allow him to keep the style he much preferred.

After teasing his bangs into sweeping across his forehead from an invisible part on the right, and making sure the rest of his hair kept up the shaggy, yet neat, appearance, he exited the room and made his way into the family dining room. He grinned when he saw the brightly wrapped presents in the centre of the table, and when he caught sight of the waffles he couldn't help the grumble his stomach gave.

"Hungry, Harry?" James grinned at him from his seat, even as he shoved another forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

Kerus huffed, turning into the grey tabby and leaping up onto the table. Lily gave him a look, but the Anistro simply began to wash his fur meticulously and ignored any attempt to remove him from the tabletop. The two black cats, around about the size of a lion cub, easily leaped onto the laps of Adriel and Michael, who grinned up at Harry.

He slipped into his seat, stroking the soft fur of Kerus, before piling his plate with waffles. "Waffles…mum, you're the best!"

Lily grinned over at him. "Not every day you turn eleven, Harry!" She pointed at the presents, shushing the twins when they started to bounce in their seats. "You might want to start opening the presents, before Adriel and Michael break their chairs!"

Harry grinned at her, finishing off his seventh waffle, before piling bacon on to the plate and pushing it in front of Kerus, who purred in pleasure. Grabbing the bright red wrapped present, he smiled over at Michael when he saw the tag. Carefully peeling off the wrapping, knowing that it would kill his family with the pace he was happily setting, he pulled out a thin brown box. Frowning slightly, he unhooked the small gold latch and flicked it open, before running a finger lightly over the black Dragonhide of the expensively made wand holster.

"Mike…"

"Do you like it?"

His brother's hazel eyes shined with hope and Harry nodded, pulling out the holster. It was made to resize itself to fit any length of wand, and strapped to the underside of his forearm. A simple twist of the wrist would have the wand dropping into the waiting hand. "Thanks, Mike."

The next present was quite obviously from his mother, as it was wrapped in a neutral white, with black Latin inscriptions all over it. Taking care with the beautiful wrapping, he found a medium sized black leather book. The gold inscription on the front read '_Spells for those who find themselves without a wand_'. "A wandless spell book?"

Lily nodded. "I know you've been trying to make normal spells work without our wands, so I thought you might appreciate that. Took forever to find it."

"I'll bet." He grinned at her. "Thanks!"

His father's present was a few muggle clothing accessories that had been modified with several spells. One was a thin leather thong that tied around his neck, the silver leopard charm on it spelled with a ton of defensive magic and rested in the hollow of his neck. Another was a silver chain that had been connected to a Bottomless Bag from Gringott's, spelled for anti-theft, and would connect to the belt loops on the many pairs of jeans he owned. The last was a plain bracelet made from supple leather, with a silver plate attached. The plate had an image of a snow leopard engraved on to it, with several Latin phrases on the back.

He grinned up at his dad, snapping the bracelet on and looping the leather thong about his neck. "Thanks, dad!"

The last present was from Adriel and contained a thin leather book. She told him, quite proudly, that it linked to another that would stay within the Manor, where all of them could access it. It had been spelled to allow instantaneous communication in case the post was suspended or he didn't end up getting an owl after all. He had grinned and promised to test it out on his first day there.

After breakfast was finished, and his mother herded the twins up stairs to get ready, James approached Harry to hand him another gift. "Harry, Sirius wanted me to give you this, it's been in the Black family a long time." He carefully attached a serpent shaped pin to Harry's robes, holding the edges together over his chest. "Him and Remus seem convinced you'll get into Slytherin. Not that I blame them, you are rather cunning, but…"

"You'd love it if I got into Gryffindor." Harry smirked. "I think I'd probably scare them."

His father laughed, slapping him on the back. "Too true! Besides, I think that it's about time a Potter finally got into a House other than that of the Lions." He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, leaning down so that they were looking eye to eye. "I promise not to allow any old rivalries affect you if you end up in the Snake Pit."

"Gee, thanks dad, I feel so much better now."

James raised his eyebrows, trying and failing to match the way his son could so easily raise only one. "Really? Well, great. But Remus had a gift for you as well. Well, it's not really his, as you know that the Lupin's never really had a lot of money, but he was adamant that you would find a better use for them than we ever did." He pulled a tattered parchment and a silvery cloak from under his own plain blue robes. "Here."

Harry swallowed as he took the items, reverently running his hands over them. "The Potter Invisibility Cloak, and the Marauder's Map?" He looked up at his dad. "Why would Remus ask you to give them to me?"

"Because we used them for the wrong reasons, Harry. We used them to antagonize the Slytherins, particularly Snape, who you know dearly despises me." He shuffled his feet and sighed dramatically. "We also received an owl from Peter, he sent his wishes to you, but nothing more."

Harry nodded, knowing that his parents were still angry at the cowardly way that their old school friend, Peter Pettigrew, had attempted to put their lives in danger instead of owning up to the mistakes he'd made. The Dark Mark was on his left arm, and the Ministry had attempted to charge him for affiliation with the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters, only to have him turn around and claim that Lily and James were Voldemort's most trusted followers. It had given their family hell for years, the stigma of the accusation still hanging around their name, impossible to shake completely off.

* * *

After almost an hour of trying to convince Adriel and Michael that they did indeed have to wear robes over their clothes, even though they tried to argue that there was plenty of Muggleborns who wouldn't be wearing them at all and that they wouldn't stand out and that they shouldn't care what other people thought at all, the Potter family finally left their home and flooed into Diagon Alley.

As he stepped gracefully from the floo, Harry absently brushed off any soot that was clinging to his robes, all the while glancing around the inside of The Leaky Cauldron. Kerus was perched on his shoulder as a white ferret, with a black mask over his little face. He chirped nervously, when several of the customers of the tavern looked at him curiously. Harry was well aware that having a familiar bond with a magical creature capable of changing its form at will was rare, but being bonded to a Anistro was unheard of!

His mother, noticing the nervous way Harry was shuffling his feet, quickly herded them through to the small alley out the back of the tavern. Adriel wrinkled her nose at the garbage, which had spilled from its can when it'd been knocked over at some point. James raised his wand and tapped the bricks of the wall in a particular order, which Harry had long since memorised for when he was eventually allowed to go to Diagon all by himself. The bricks began to shift, wiggling and moving until there was no longer a wall before them, but an archway through which the sights and sounds of Diagon Alley reached out to them.

Their first stop was Gringott's, a snowy white building which towered far above all the other little shops, though it stood slightly disjointed and at a fairly odd angle. Beside the burnished bronze doors, was a goblin dressed in a uniform of scarlet and gold. He gave them a sharp toothed grin and as they walked past, Harry was pleased to notice that he was almost two heads taller than the creature, one up on the last time they'd visited the bank.

The second set of doors, silver instead of bronze, had familiar words engraved upon them, which Harry knew that Adriel and Michael had never read before. He smirked as they gaped at the words:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn, _

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Harry lowered his head and whispered in Michael's ear, "Heard there were dragons in there. And apparently, if you touch what doesn't belong to you, it triples itself and turns red hot."

His younger brother blinked. "Goblins can do that?"

"Goblins can do loads of things. Once, they trapped a thief down there, knowing he was there, and didn't check the security of the vault he was in for nearly a week. He had third degree burns to his whole body."

Michael edged away from the pair of goblins who bowed to them as they entered, and Harry was hard pressed not to snigger at the wide eyed look his younger brother was giving the whole place. Adriel glared at him, but he merely shrugged one shoulder and ignored the indignant look she gave. Kerus was endlessly amused by Michael's gullible nature and was giving little snickers in Harry's ear as he curled about his neck.

They were now in a vast marble hall, where a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind the long counter, scribbling and weighing, all the while secretly throwing disdainful looks at some of their customers. Harry understood why this was, because some people truly did not understand how much pride and care goblins put into whatever they did, and simply demanding things of them was a high insult.

James pulled Harry aside, pulling a small golden key from his robe pocket. "Now, Harry, this vault was set up especially for you, so no one else has access to the money or objects within. It'll never empty out, as it's directly linked to the main vault, but I expect you to not be frivolous in your spending."

Harry shook his head as he received a rare stern look. "I'm not going to go and buy the most expensive thing when something cheaper will work just the same."

"Good, or your mother will have my hide." James grimaced and handed Harry the key. "You know which goblin is in charge of the Potter accounts?"

"Griphook?"

"Yep, now, go and find him. And remember! Greet him right, or the ride down will be horrible for all of us."

Harry nodded, turning back to the counter and letting his eyes scan over the goblins there. About halfway down, he finally spotted Griphook and quickly made his way over, seeing as there were no other customers. The goblin let his long fingers curl over the edge of the counter as he leaned forward, his eyes flickering in recognition.

"Yes?"

"Good morn, to you Griphook, may this day shine bright upon your treasure."

Griphook looked over the edge of the half moon glasses he wore, peering down at the wizard before him. "And a good morning to you, Mister Potter. What may I help you with today?"

Relieved that he'd chosen the right greeting, Harry gave the goblin his key. "I'd like to take some many from my vault, please."

Griphook nodded, stepping down from his high chair. "Right this way, please."

They followed him out another door entering a narrow stone passage, flickering torches lining the walls. Adriel swallowed loudly when she spotted the railway tracks and the cart they would be climbing into. Griphook caught the way her tanned skin paled dramatically, and looked up at her, his face oddly soft.

"The ride will not be terrible, young miss. Any stories you may have heard are, of course, coming from those who regularly insult us. The ride today will be quite pleasant, and you will be out soon."

After they clambered into the cart, Kerus diving into one of Harry's robe pockets, they hurtled down the track before throwing a hard right. Adriel clung to Harry and he wrapped an arm around her, knowing that the ride would be over in only a moment or two. Vaults that were set up to be connected to a family's main vault, such as the one he now had, were usually used by students whose family decided they were mature enough to have their own. Because of this, and the fact they were usually temporary vaults, they were placed in the top levels of the Gringott's underground caverns. No ride there was ever very long.

When the cart stopped, Harry had to laugh when his sister refused to move even an inch. He stepped inside his vault, noting its small size. Opening the bottomless bag his father had given him, he piled a bunch of galleons, sickles and knuts into it, before closing it up and placing it within his jeans pocket, attaching the silver chain to belt loop at the back. The cart ride back was much slower and when Adriel stepped out she proclaimed that she never wanted to ever set foot in one again. Griphook's cackling laughter had followed them as they bid him goodbye and left the building.

"What's your list say, Harry?" Lily turned to him, watching as he pulled the piece of parchment out. "Most likely it's changed since I last had a look at it all."

_Uniform_

_First year students will require:_

_Three sets of plan work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

She nodded as she read it. "Well, off to Madam Malkin's then!"

They took off down the street, with James tugging Adriel and Michael along so that Harry could shop in relative peace and quiet. His mother led him into _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_, where they were greeted by Madame Malkin, who was dressed in mauve and gave Harry a friendly smile.

"Hello, dear. Was beginning to wonder when you'd be coming in to get fitted for Hogwarts. Excited are you?"

She led him out the back, leaving his mother to browse the assorted robes hanging out front, and nudged him onto a pedestal. Harry turned his attention to the witch, after curiously looking at the pale blonde on the other stand, and gave her a grin. "Only a little. More apprehensive, I think."

She hummed, as she slipped a black robe over his head and began pinning it up. "Understandable. Why, I remember my first day. Terrified I was, I had a fair few friends and, well, the Sorting system meant we'd be broken up." She fell silent then, as she worked on getting his robe fixed up.

The other boy looked over at him, grey eyes flashing. "Hullo, Hogwarts too?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Obvious, isn't it?

The blonde narrowed his eyes, drawing himself up a little bit more. "I was only trying to ask you a friendly question. Likely one of _them_ aren't you?"

"If you're talking about Muggleborns, then no, I'm not one of them. But my mother is, and by your attitude I can tell you're one of the old purebloods. Prejudice gits with egos that revolve around their arses."

The boy blinked, seemingly surprised by the sarcasm laced voiced and the flat tone that was used, as if it had been said more times than one would care to count. "Oh…"

Harry sighed, noting the way Madame Malkin was shooting him curious glances. "Sorry. I'm not one to even tolerate the way people are prejudiced around here. Suppose that's why I'm worried about going to Hogwarts."

The boy nodded. He glanced out the window nervously, before looking at the witch who was pinning up Harry's robes. Madame Malkin looked up at him and gave a small smile. "Your father said he was getting your books, and your mother is looking for wands, though how that would work I don't know."

The boy heaved a sigh of relief, and for the first time Harry noticed the way he'd been holding himself, as if he was forcing the tense posture. "My name's Draco Malfoy, and I'm sorry about that. Expected of someone from my family when in public."

"A Malfoy?" Harry blinked. He'd never expected to even meet the son of Lucius Malfoy. "No offence, but I feel really sorry for you. And I'm Harry Potter."

Draco nodded, casting a nervous glance out the window again. "Most likely Father won't let me talk to someone like you. He'd think you a half blood."

"A half blood is someone born from magical and muggle blood. Both my parents are magical. Think of someone like me as…a new pureblood."

Nodding thoughtfully, Draco gave him a tentative half smile. "Makes sense, I suppose. Do you know what House you're going to be in yet?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "An idea, but we don't know until we get there, do we?"

"Suppose. But I know I'll be in Slytherin, all of our family has been. Can't imagine being in Hufflepuff though, I'd leave, wouldn't you? Supposedly all the sensitive mudbloods and foolish idiots go in there."

"No." Harry was back to not liking the boy again. It was like some sort of ping-pong game. "I wouldn't mind it, Hufflepuff's are fairly loyal."

"Wouldn't mind it?" Draco scoffed. "Most likely you'd end up there then." He sneered, his lips curling upwards. "I hate people who come from Hufflepuff, they have trouble deciding which side of a fight they should be on, seem like a bunch of idiots to me. Like Gryffindor's, with their foolish sense of bravery. Call them Gryffindorks, I do."

Before Harry could even think of lashing out at the boy, Madame Malkin stood and gave him a stern look. "That's you done, dear." She leaned in close and whispered, "And don't you be listening to him. Your parents were the bravest people I ever saw. And Hufflepuff's not all bad, I came from there, you know."

Harry sent her a smile, before leaving the shop. He was even more apprehensive about going to Hogwarts now. Kerus popped his head out from his shirt, his little golden eyes watching him carefully. He was glad that his familiar had not reacted to his own emotions; he didn't particularly want everyone to now he had an Anistro.


	3. Severus Snape & Sept First

**A/N:** I'm glad you guys are liking this new project of mine, since any updates are random or slow. But I have a few chapters for this one already lined up on my computer, so once a week or so I should be able to update. **The Fey Courtesan** isn't so lucky, but maybe I'll be able to update that one when my laptop decides to stop being temperamental with me. Anywho, enjoy!

**Speech Key**

"blah blah blah." Normal speech.

"_blah blah blah._" Familiar speech, could also be word emphasis or spells.

_Blah blah blah_ Word emphasis, spells, or letters

**Chapter Three-- Severus Snape and September First**

_Set Books_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

_Other Equipment_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

By the time Harry and his mother finished up in _Flourish and Blott's_, he was more than ready to throttle the next old pureblood he met up with. He'd already had enough of Malfoy's, since he'd met Lucius inside the bookshop. The encounter had been disastrous from the beginning. Actually from the moment the stupid blonde had opened his mouth about Lily being nothing more than 'Mudblood filth'. Kerus hadn't been able to not react to Harry's anger, as well as his own and he'd leaped out of where he'd taken refuge in Harry's pocket, changing mid air into his leopard form. The manager on duty had grabbed their books, cashed them up and all but shoved them out of the shop, mumbling about children and familiars.

Kerus had since refused to change into anything smaller and they were attracting a lot of stares, and more than few glares. Harry had to wait outside the stationary shop as his mum went in and got him several notebooks of perforated parchment, something they'd adopted from muggles, and several bottles of ink, mostly in green, black and red. He would continue using his own stock of quills, which were made from Kerus' silver and black phoenix form.

They then went into the Apothecary and bought a standard first year pack, along with his crystal phials, brass scales and the pewter cauldron. It was only then that Kerus had even temporarily changed his form, into the smaller grey tabby, though he still hissed at everyone. Harry's mood didn't even change when they got his wand, which was exactly twelve inches, ebony, with the heartstring from a Hungarian Horntail Dragon, nice and supple. There had been a shower of gold sparks and a rush of warmth through his hand, as well as a small sense of familiarity, which only served to make him frown even more.

When they had met up with his father and the twins, Kerus was back to his leopard form, though he wasn't as upset, since Harry had had a chance to calm himself a little. His father was holding a cage with a beautiful snowy owl in it, who hooted in indignation when Kerus sniffed at it.

Adriel was immensely proud. "Dad says she's mine, and that we can all use her next year. But you get her this year. I named her Hedwig."

Harry raised an eyebrow, feeling the last of his anger and annoyance slip away as his sister and brother yabbered on about what they'd seen. He was soon caught up in their excitement, a small smile flitting about his lips as they slowly made their way back up Diagon Alley. All his school things had been shrunk and placed inside the black canvas bag his mother was carrying around. The only item he needed now, was a telescope.

As they navigated their way across the now busy alley, Harry caught sight of familiar flapping robes and a scowl designed to send grown adults scampering away, much less the students the man taught. Smirking, he paused and waited but a moment before Michael turned to see why he was dawdling and instead latched his hazel eyes onto his godfather.

"Uncle Sev!"

Severus Snape, renowned Potions Master and teacher of the subject at Hogwarts, looked up, ready to send another child a scathing remark, only to see his godson dash over to him. He gave a small smile, which helped to smooth out some of the hard lines on his face. "Hello, Michael."

Michael grinned up at him, his glasses slipping down his nose. "Guess what?"

Severus absently pushed the glasses back up onto the bridge of the small child's nose. "And what is it I am meant to be guessing?" He raised an eyebrow in question, which made James think that perhaps Harry had learned it from the man.

Harry wandered over, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Good morning, Uncle Sev."

"Harry." He nodded, coal black eyes shining with the pride he had in both his godson and the eldest child of the Potter family.

"Harry got into Hogwarts!" Michael jumped up and down, ignoring the twin hisses from his own familiar and Kerus. "He got in!"

"I never did doubt you Harry, even if you have Potter for a father."

Harry gave him a smirk as Lily led James and Adriel over to them. "Severus!"

"Lily, my dear. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Sev. But how are you doing? Is Dumbledore treating you well?"

Albus Dumbledore had vouched for Severus when the Ministry had started their trials, claiming he had been spying for the Light the entire time the Mark had been on his arm. Which was totally false, but helped keep the man from a life sentence in Azkaban. He felt terrible that two truly innocent wizards had been sent there, but he had to worry about his life debt to Dumbledore now. "He is treating me perfectly fine, Lily, unless one counts the dunderheads that he insists I teach each year."

James snorted. "Well, you'll have all three of ours to deal with next year. More Potters, eh?"

"How…wonderful." He looked down at the three children fondly. "But I do not think I will have any trouble teaching them all."

"Even if we get into Gryffindor?" Adriel cocked her head to the side, her auburn fringe falling over her eyes.

Severus sneered, tapping the force of it down when Lily gave him a pointed glare. "I highly doubt any of you three would get into that House. All of you are far too…sneaky, to ever quite fit in." He sighed and looked up at James. "In fact, and it pains me greatly to admit this--."

"I'll bet," James mumbled.

"--but I find myself wondering how a wizard with an obvious talent for sneaking about, and a sly eye, could get into that House."

James shrugged. "Potter's have been in Gryffindor since the Founders era."

"Indeed." Severus stepped forward and gave Lily a hug, before passing one onto each of the three children. He reluctantly shook hands with James, a barely contained sneer on his face. "I must be going, Lucius claims that Draco has met some Hogwarts child and is, apparently, upset that the way he was brought up caused the boy to dislike him."

Harry coughed and Kerus hid behind him, peering through his legs at the man before them. Severus frowned. "Was it you Harry?"

"He was being a downright git. Insulting Muggleborns, after I told him my mother was one, and claiming that the House tells everything about a person!"

"Really? Well, I am sure you and Draco will come to forge an…amicable relationship once you get to know one another. Good day." He nodded to them and strode away, his robes billowing and flapping, a scowl set firmly on his face.

* * *

The next month went by rather smoothly, with the whole Potter household getting ready for the day Harry would leave for Hogwarts. It didn't seem to matter much that he would be back again for the Christmas holidays. He was busy helping his father settle down the creatures within the estate, as the days were getting shorter, the nights longer and the temperature continued to drop at a steady rate. Parts of the estate were set up to mirror a tropical environment, so charms were set up around them to keep the snow from getting in; it would melt immediately and fall as a light sheet of rain. Others, for creatures who much preferred the winter chill, the charms on those areas were toned down a little bit, since a natural snowfall would arrive in a month or so.

Harry was becoming more and more anxious each passing day. He was worried that someone would find out about his Sight, worried that his adamant stance against prejudice would cause him to make no friends, worried about which House he would be Sorted into, worried about whether someone would notice that Kerus changed his form endlessly, and even worried that someone would notice the odd birthmark on his back.

When he'd been younger, the black mark had resembled a small pair of wings, but had since changed, morphing and stretching up his back. It'd been nearly six years since the wings had been there, and he barely noticed it at all now. But him and his family were used to it, since all five of them had their own strange birthmarks. His fathers wrapped around his right arm, moving over the skin like spidery fingers, and resembling flames. His mothers was a Celtic design and sat on her lower back and was somehow connected to the Sight she possessed. Adriel's was on her left hip and looked as if it was trying to twist around her back, while Michael's was at the base of his neck, hidden by his hair, and stretched downwards, more spidery fingers that looked like flames.

When August 31st finally came, Harry was well and truly sick of the whole thing. He wanted nothing more than to arrive at the school and be done with it all. He didn't want to be worrying over everybody else's reactions to anything odd about him and his family. In fact, the only thing he wasn't verbally worrying about, was the very thing his parents were.

"_Mum_!" Adriel scrunched her nose up, swinging her feet as she crashed onto the lounge beside Harry, who glared at her. "Why can't we just go to Hogsmeade and meet them all there?"

"Yeah," Michael said, looking up from his book. "We live in Scotland, the school's in Scotland, so why do we have to go all the way to London just so Harry can get on a train that goes to Scotland?"

James grinned at his son, even as Lily sighed in exasperation. "We already tried rationalising, dear, and Dumbledore wouldn't hear a word of it. He seems to be under the impression that the train ride is an important part of any students journey, and that none are exempt from it."

Adriel sniffed. "I read in _Hogwarts: A History_ that kids who lived nearby made their own way there, before Dumbledore took over. He's been making people who live as close as Hogsmeade take the train for fifty years!"

Harry shook his head and sighed. "It's because he likes to control everyone, Addy."

She frowned. "So? He has no right to make us go all the way there. I bet you Neville Longbottom doesn't have to."

Lily gave Harry a small smile. "Harry, we need you to be careful. Dumbledore is likely to try anything to get as many first years under his wing as fast as he possibly can, and he's likely to target you." She chewed her lip, a frown creasing her forehead. "The old purebloods know that the Potter family used to have creature blood mixed in with it, though that was a few thousand years ago, but this family has always had some odd little quirk that brings attention to us."

"Really, you think?" Harry mumbled. He sighed and frowned a little. "He wants me under his proverbial thumb? Well, he's in for a shock, isn't he?"

* * *

September 1st dawned with the sun struggling to shine its feeble rays through the storm clouds in the air and the thick mist that flowed over the estate. Kerus purred loudly, rubbing his face against Harry's, content to simply remain in the warmth of the bed. Harry sighed, opening his eyes and looking into the gold orbs of the Anistro. He reached up and curled his fingers into the silvery fur on his nape.

"Why do we have to go, Ker?"

"_We have little choice._"

Harry scowled. "Well, that's no fun. We have to go to a school full of prejudiced little shits and what can we do? Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"_You shouldn't swear, you know._"

"Stop trying to be my mother." The leopard hissed and rolled over, leaping nimbly off the large bed. "Suppose I should get up then."

After showering himself, which Kerus decided he'd join in on as a small winged serpent, Harry twisted around in front of his mirror, inspecting the tattoo-like mark on his back. It had spread a little more since the last time he'd checked it at Christmas the year before. Now it looked as if it were twisting, becoming less sharp and smoothing out into curves. He imagined it looked a lot like some sort of vine like design. The very top of it, which reached almost to the base of his neck, was still little more than a thin black line, while the bottom half, that which sat just above his arse, was thick and cursive.

Sighing, he pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans, black pinstriped sneakers and a deep forest green shirt with '_If you must do something wrong...have fun doing it!_' written in white block letters over the front. He loved all the slogan shirts he owned, since he'd been collecting both muggle and Wizarding ones since he was seven, so he had a fair few. Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head and blinked as the raven strands fell over his eyes. Shrugging, he turned back and flipped open his trunk.

Staring down into what would soon be his only pieces of home, he threw in a few more pairs of jeans and shirts, adding a couple of sneakers and accessories in. Walking over to the bookcases set up along one wall, he began pulling some of the titles out, absently holding them out until Kerus, in the form of a large eagle, carried them over to his trunk. With nearly twenty of his own books stashed away, he closed the lid and tapped his finger on the lock, listening for the click as it locked itself.

Walking over to his bedside table, he picked up the leather thong his father had given him. Peering at it closely, he saw that it was really several thin strips of leather tightly wound together. He lifted it and tied it around his throat, letting the leopard charm dangle just above the hollow of his throat. He strapped the wand holster onto his arm, slipping his ebony wand into it, and watching the leather resize itself, sitting snugly against his forearm. While he was still underage, he was going to take no chances on the Hogwarts Express. The bottomless bag was slipped into his back pocket and the chain attached to his jeans.

The simple black bracelet with the silver plate was still on his wrist, as his father had told him that it should prevent any attack that would separate him and Kerus, yet another thing he was afraid of at Hogwarts. He knew that most witches and wizards, those who had grown up surrounded by magic, would also have familiars, and his only fear with them was that his familiar was an Anistro. Muggleborns, however, had to gain their familiars through hard work, which could take decades. If they happened to be bitter about yet another reminder of their exclusion in the magical world, they could cause severe damage by attempting to get back at another individual by removing their familiar. He'd heard it was like having your heart ripped out.

Sighing, he made his way out of the room, holding the door open so Kerus, as a Timber Wolf, could help him lug his trunk down the stairs. It took them a few goes, and several mumbled curses, before it was down in the foyer, waiting to be transported. Kerus turned back into a falcon, flying up to rest on his shoulder, rubbing his feathered head against his cheek.

"Morning, Harry."

He gave a small smile to Adriel, who tipped her head to the side. "Hello, Addy."

Her familiar hissed at Kerus, its tail tapping out a beat. Kerus cocked his head to the side, staring down at it in obvious disdain. He had no idea what was behind this animosity between the twin feline familiars and his own, but he figured that whatever species they were had obviously been a problem to the Anistro's. Kerus shivered and shifted into his own tabby form, leaping onto the table as Harry sat down.

"Are you nervous?"

He looked over at his sister, studying her closely. Despite the outward appearance they gave the public, that of constant bickering and goading, he was truly close to Michael and Adriel, feeling an odd link to them. He was closer to Adriel, since they shared an interest in the running of the estate and the care of the creatures there, while Michael preferred to delve into the thickest tome he could find at the time.

"A little, maybe. Where's mum?"

Adriel snorted, lifting her glass of orange juice to her lips. "Trying to get dad up."

"Ah, well then, perhaps we should set off for the train ourselves?"

"Truly. By the time he drags his arse down here you'll already be halfway from London to Hogwarts!"

They laughed softly, eyes dancing in the soft light of the room. Harry sighed before filling his plate with bacon for Kerus and pancakes for him. Adriel lifted one foot up onto the chair, wrapping her arm around it and resting her cheek on her knee. "Are you scared?"

Harry frowned. "Not really, at least, not of the idea of leaving here. We can't be coddled and protected all our lives, can we? No, but I am a little scared of just what I'm walking in to."

She nodded. "I'm not looking forward to next year either." There was silence a moment, except for the sound of Kerus eating. "We aren't like normal kids, are we?"

"_No, I don't think you ever could be._" Adriel's familiar twitched her tail and flattened her ears. "_In this world, no Potter could ever fit into normality._"

"Hush, Lero. I'm sure that we could fit in…somehow."

"_Lero is right._" Kerus paused in his grooming. "_They are going to be viewing you through a magnifying glass, looking for the smallest reason to pounce. Our jobs are going to be infinitely harder from now on._"

"_Speak for yourself. I still have a year to go. And I will more time to prepare than you!_"

Harry sighed and lifted Kerus as the tabby darted forward, hissing angrily. "Stop it, Kerus. Not today, okay?"

Adriel bit her lip, leaning to the side a little, so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "Remember the book, Harry. Perhaps owl post isn't so wise an idea. You could always just use Kerus."

"_I am not leaving Harry's side. The owl will have to come, for image purposes if anything._"

"He's right. They'll expect a familiar, and while the weaker wizards and witches may be able to ignore the discomfort of sending their familiar away, I doubt I could."

"I didn't think of that."

"_Clearly._"

It took another hour before his father finally stumbled into the room, being prodded painfully by Lily. Michael sauntered in after awhile, instantly plopping down next to Harry and leaning into him, much like his twin was busy doing. A half hour later and they were prepared to leave, entering the main foyer and walking over to the fireplace. They were going to travel via floo, directly onto the platform and avoiding the stares and curious glances they would receive from the muggles at the station. Just as James was about to throw a handful of powder in, the wards beeped in alarm and the windows within the room flashed.

"There's an owl attempting to get in…"

Harry swayed slightly, his vision fogging slightly and the sounds around him became muffled. He could see the tawny owl, fluttering in confusion by the edge of the wards, pecking at the invisible shield that kept everyone, and everything, who had not been approved from entering the grounds. He saw the letter and knew, without needing to read it, that it was from Dumbledore.

"He's not going to let us go by floo." Lily looked at Harry, a frown on her brow. "The owl has a letter from him, stating that all students are to enter from the muggle side. Floo's been disconnected from the platform."

"Why that meddling old coot!" Adriel glared at the fireplace.

James sighed, pouring his handful of powder back into the pot on the mantelpiece. "Ah well. At least we won't be the only ones annoyed by it, eh?"

"Annoyed, is a very loose term, James."

**A/N: **Ah, we're getting closer to Hogwarts!


	4. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**A/N:** The next lot of chapters will be following the first book, **The Philosopher's Stone**, a fair bit, with various changes to both speech and the actions of individuals. I will deviate from the book more when I actually get Harry into his House at Hogwarts.

And to **Disco-Dancing on the roof**, I dedicate this chapter to you because, well, I wasn't planning on updating this for a few more days, but since you thought to try a new pairing (and since you admitting to loving the train ride), I thought I'd put this chapter up!

**Speech Key**

"blah blah blah." Normal speech.

"_blah blah blah._" Familiar speech, could also be word emphasis or spells.

_Blah blah blah_ Word emphasis, spells, or letters

**Chapter Four-- Platform Nine and Three Quarters**

They had used a portkey, which had been delivered with the owl and was a rather ratty looking old shoe, to get to an alley near to the King's Cross Station. In all honesty, Harry was far more nervous when surrounded by muggles, and the thought of spending a year in the midst of prejudiced students paled significantly in comparison. Kerus had slipped inside his shirt, poking his masked ferret face out the top and staring at all the muggles who gave them funny looks. His father pulled his trunk, which was spelled feather light and had retractable wheels on one end, into the station, loading it onto a trolley. Hedwig was placed on top and the snowy owl hooted in annoyance from within her gilded gold cage.

Nervously, they navigated through the throng of muggles, wondering all the while if only they had been sent the letter, since they could see no purebloods sneering. It wasn't until Harry cast a glance to the side, just as they reached the bridge that would carry them over several platforms, and caught sight of Lucius Malfoy striding with his nose in the air and distinctly disgusted look on his face, that he realised it wasn't so. The man snapped at any muggle who happened to step too close, constantly telling his son to hurry up. Draco was looking even more pale than usual, his hands tightly gripping the handle of the trolley as he pushed it.

As they finally reached the right platform, that of nine and ten, they heard a group of people pass behind them. And while this would normally not have been of any importance, Harry caught a few words of what was being said.

"--packed with Muggles, of course--."

Harry snorted and shook his head, even as his mother turned to face the gaggle of red heads with a stern look on her face. "Molly, are you not aware of the word 'secrecy'?"

The patronising tone caused the plump lady to flush a rosy colour. Her own familiar, a grey African Parrot, gave a loud 'crawck', causing Harry, who was closest, to wince visibly. The five red haired children all blinked at them, the oldest seeming to puff his chest up in an effort to appear more important.

"Lily Potter. How… wonderful to see you dear."

James blinked. "Lily?"

"We're going, James. Push the trolley through."

James nodded, turning their trolley towards the large, brick and mortar column between the signs for platforms nine and ten. Casting a glance around, he casually strolled forward, and simply walked through the wall. Harry raised an eyebrow, having never before seen someone go through this gateway to the platform. Adriel sighed, even as Michael blanched from the odd stare the young red haired girl was giving him.

"Now, now, Lily, we were here first, after all. First come, first serve, isn't that what muggles say?"

Harry frowned. "You should know, since you were calling them that loudly enough."

Molly turned her brown eyes on him and Kerus gave an angry chirp. Her eyes then moved onto his familiar. "Not been taught manners, have you?"

Lily touched his shoulder. "Take your brother and sister through, Harry, I'll meet you on the other side." She gave him a warm smile. "Just walk straight through, you won't be harmed, but try to appear as casual as possible, okay?"

He nodded and walked over to the wall. Adriel and Michael looked around, before nodding, and the three of them stepped through to the other side. His father was there, waiting patiently for them and gave the three of them a bright smile. "Mum'll be a sec."

James sighed. "The Weasley's. Molly Prewett married Arthur Weasley the minute they graduated from school. Have seven children. Ginerva, the little girl, is the only other female in their house." He clasped Harry's shoulder and peered into his eyes. "It runs in Prewett blood to be short tempered, so expect the kids to be so."

Harry nodded, even as he looked around the platform. He'd been there once before, when they'd visited Severus in Hogsmeade a couple of years ago. The scarlet sides of _The Hogwarts Express_ gleamed in the bright lights, even as it puffed steam into the air to slowly drift over the heads of chattering crowds. He turned to the wrought iron gateway behind him, watching as his mother stormed through it, her eyes flashing angrily. A moment later the gaggle of red heads entered, but they were already moving away.

James took Harry's trunk off the trolley, which vanished, handing him the handle on the side. "Take care, Harry, and promise me you'll have fun, the Marauders way?"

Harry grinned, even as his mother sighed in exasperation. "Promise."

Lily wrapped her arms around him, giving him the sort of hug that only a mother could truly give. She kissed the top of his head and bit her lip. "Please be careful. Pay attention in class and remember, we don't care where you end up." With one last squeeze she let him go. "You'd best hurry, travelling the muggle way left us with only a little bit till the train leaves."

Harry turned to Michael and Adriel, giving the two a grin. "At least I can't be pranking you any more."

"Oh yeah!" Adriel said with a roll of her eyes. "I knew there was a good reason to have you go. Suppose we'll get more sleep now."

Michael blinked, shyly wrapping his arms around his older brother. Harry smiled and squeezed him slightly. "Miss you, Harry."

He grinned then. "I'll be back for Chrissie, and I'm sure I'll find loads of things to get you!"

His brother brightened at that. "Books?"

He leaned down and whispered softly, "I'll copy some library books, alright?"

Michael was smiling brightly now, and it made Harry feel a little better. He gave Adriel a peck on the cheek before taking a deep breath and turning around, pulling his trunk after him. Each step away from his family felt horrible, and he couldn't help but scrunch his nose up at the sound of cats meowing and owls screeching and hooting. Public places were far too loud for his tastes.

The first few of the carriages he passed were packed, students hanging out windows to say last minute goodbyes. He continued on, passing a familiar looking round faced boy who was surrounded by Auror's, all of whom looked endlessly amused as the boy was whining about his lost toad. Harry frowned as he saw the soft red lightening bolt scar, out for all the world to see, even though someone had attempted to hide it with the dark sandy hair. It was the Boy Who Lived, Neville Longbottom, and he'd lost his _toad_.

He withheld the snort that desperately tried to get out, just as he caught sight of a boy with dreadlocks who was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on, open it."

The boy lifted a lid off the box in his arms and Harry caught sight of a hairy leg as the people about him shrieked and jumped away. Some sort of large spider. He wondered why anyone would want to bring one to a school full of curious first years, and oblivious Muggleborns?

He continued through the crowd, finally finding an empty compartment. He pulled his trunk up the stairs and turned down the narrow corridor, entering the compartment through the sliding door. Kerus wiggled and removed himself from the inside of the black jacket he was wearing. Changing into his leopard form, he helped push and shove the trunk into the overhead compartment. He frowned when he realised that Muggleborns wouldn't have feather light charms, since they didn't know about them. His had the charm and was still difficult to manoeuvre, so how would they manage?

Settling beside the window, he raised a hand and pressed it to the glass, watching as his family waved to him. He heard a scuffle and turned his head to see two red heads, twins it seemed, shuffling past a few younger kids. He blinked when one of them grinned at him.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, mum."

The two moved past his compartment, and he saw them greet Molly Weasley. The woman was busy trying to wipe away a smudge of dirt on the youngest boys nose.

"_Mum_--geroff." He scowled and wriggled free, glaring as his twin brothers grinned.

"Ah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" Said one of the twins.

"Shut up."

"Where's Percy?" Molly looked questioningly at the twins, who sighed.

"He's coming now."

Indeed, the eldest of the red heads came up to them, his black Hogwarts robes billowing and a silver 'P' badge on his chest. A Prefect then, and a Gryffindor one if the red and gold emblem on his chest was anything to go by. His familiar, a small elegant Siamese cat, was perched on his shoulder, piercing blue eyes shooting narrowed looks at passers-by.

"Can't stay long, mother," he proclaimed with another puff of his chest. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments all to themselves--."

"Oh, are you a _Prefect_, Percy?" One of the twins, the very slightly taller one, spoke as if he was surprised by this fact. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," The other twin grinned and Harry noticed this one had more freckles. "Once--."

"Or twice--."

"A minute--."

"All summer--."

"Oh, shut up. Just because you're jealous doesn't meant you have to go and be all…_annoying_ about it!"

The twins snorted together, sending Percy a look, which Harry presumed meant retribution in some way, if he was reading the sudden paling of the boys face correctly.

"How come he gets new robes, anyway? What if we want some?"

"Because he's a _Prefect_, can't very well have him wandering about in second hands now, can we?"

Percy smirked smugly, even as he said goodbye to Molly and strode away again. The red haired lady turned to the twins, giving them a stern look. "Now, you two. This year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've…you've blown up a toilet or--."

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, mum."

"It's _not funny_. And look after Ron." She sighed and cast a loving look at the youngest boy. "I don't want him getting into any trouble, especially with the Potter boy going this year."

"Honestly, mum, he doesn't look so bad."

She turned and looked at them pointedly before sending a glare towards Harry's family. He frowned, even as his mother sent her own glare back.

"Looks are deceiving, and that family are good at deceiving everyone. Now, promise me you'll keep Ron safe."

The twins sighed, even as Ron voiced his protests. "Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

Harry snorted and Kerus snickered as he watched them all out the window. He turned his attention back to his familiar, reaching out and sinking his fingers into the lush silver touched white fur. "What are we going to do, Kerus? Already we've met one family against us."

Kerus turned his golden eyes onto him, purring loudly as he pressed close to his side. "_Stop this worrying, Harry. We have not even left the station yet, and you are already fearful for the year._"

"Do you blame me?"

"_No,_" the Anistro shook its head. "_Not at all, I think it wise of you to be wary of those around you. But you are only eleven, nothing more than a child in the world's eyes. Perhaps, you should try and act like one?_"

"I don't feel like a child at all." He swallowed. "I feel like everyone here is judging me."

"_No one can judge you more than you allow yourself to be judged._"

"Another saying I should remember?"

"_One you should keep close._"

A shrill whistle cut through the air and Harry looked up, watching with sad eyes as his family waved to him. His heart contracted painfully and he tried to ignore the fear that wrapped around it in an icy grip. He caught sight of the three red heads jumping onto the train, the little girl crying beside her mother.

"Don't Ginny," he heard a twin say in a soft voice. "We'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"_George!_"

"Only joking, mum."

As the train began to move, Harry saw Michael start towards the train, his own familiar trying to push him back. His younger brother looked close to tears, and Harry could only press his hand once more to the glass. He watched, even after his family and the platform vanished from sight when they turned a corner. Kerus rubbed his head against him purring loudly in an effort to comfort him in some way.

A few minutes later the door to his compartment opened, showing the young red haired boy. "Oh, sorry."

Kerus rolled onto the floor, hackles rising even as he let loose a low rumbling growl. "_Weasley._"

The boy jerked and Harry caught sight of the small pygmy monkey within his jumper pocket. "Your familiar just spoke to me."

"_Yes, we do tend to speak to others._"

"Kerus is rather boisterous. May I help you?"

"I was just looking for a seat, everywhere is sort of full. I don't remember seeing a leopard with you on the platform…"

"_I, like your coward of a familiar, can hide as well. Though frightening a station full of muggles would be amusing._"

Harry smothered his laughter when he saw the flicker of fear in the boys blue eyes. "Hush, Ker. You can come in, unless the corridor is much more comfortable?"

"It's much more accommodating," the boy mumbled. Harry raised an eyebrow in question. "He's still growling at me, you know."

"Kerus?"

"_Yes?_"

Harry patted the seat beside him. "Hop up."

The leopard climbed back up onto the seat, sprawling over the rest of it and laying his large head on Harry's lap. Instantly he began to stroke the velvety fur on his face. The red head pulled the tiny monkey out of his pocket, and the creature chattered nervously at the large predator so close to it, before climbing up to sit on the shoulder of his master. Harry merely watched this, before looking out the window.

"My mum thinks you're dangerous."

"Really?" Harry continued to look out the window, watching the houses fly by.

The red head frowned slightly. "My name's--."

The door to the compartment slid open and Harry looked over to see the twin red heads standing there, grinning widely. "Hey, Ron."

Ron grimaced a little when they stared at Harry, but he ignored their looks and instead focused on the twin foxes that were crouched at their feet, brown eyes watching a disinterested Kerus. "Yes, is there something I can do for the two of you?"

The taller one blinked. "Sorry. My name's Fred, and this is George." The other twin nodded to him, turning his attention back to their younger brother.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train. Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron, a scowl beginning to form on his face. "But mum said I was to stay with you two."

George grinned at him. "I'm sure you'll be fine here with…sorry, but I didn't catch your name?"

"_He did not give it._"

The twins jerked, eyes widening slightly. "Your familiar spoke to us."

Harry frowned. "Why is that so odd? They do speak, you know."

"Sure--."

"Of course they do--."

"But not normally to other people." Fred frowned a little. "Well, it's nice to meet you, familiar of the unknown Potter boy."

Harry raised an eyebrow, but Kerus merely looked up at him, his tail tapping against the wall. He sighed before finally speaking once more, "My name is Harry, and this Kerus."

The twins gave identical grins. "Brilliant. You'll be okay in here, with ickle Ronniekins?"

Kerus gave a low rumbling growl and they glanced down at him, startled when they noticed his gold eyes resting on them. "I think I'll be fine, thanks."

They nodded, bidding their brother good-bye and leaving the compartment door to slide shut again. Harry turned his attention back outside, seeing that the houses were giving way to green pastures filled with cows and sheep. He sighed inwardly, knowing that he wasn't likely to be getting any good conversation from his present company, excluding Kerus.

A short time later, Ron tried to start up a conversation with him, since the silence had become uncomfortable for the red head. "You're lucky, you know."

"Really? How so?" He kept his eyes focused outside, even as he watched the boy in the reflection in the glass.

"You only have two younger than you. I have five older brothers."

"I doubt it could be that bad."

"It is. I've got a lot to live up to, being the sixth to go to Hogwarts. Bill and Charlie, the oldest, have already left. Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was really good at Quidditch, became Captain. Now Percy's a Prefect," And here he wrinkled his nose, which Harry found amusing, remembering the stuck up boy he'd seen. "And Fred and George mess around a lot but everyone thinks they're a riot, and their grades aren't as bad as some people think. I'm expected to do good you see, but it won't matter if I do, because it's already been done."

"Why don't you do something unexpected then?" Harry was looking over at him now, cocking his head in curiosity. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say your family has all been in Gryffindor?"

Ron nodded. "For as long as anyone can remember, yeah. It's like a trait or something."

"The same with my family, but I doubt Gryffindor would be the place for me. Perhaps it isn't the place for you either?"

Again, the boy nodded. "I don't get anything new either. Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand…I think the only new things I own are my underwear."

Harry let a smile slip out, watching as the boy's ears went slightly pink. Ron shuffled a bit and his little monkey familiar began to groom his hair. He thought it was cute, sort of the same as when Kerus curled up and around him when he was distressed. It was some time later, around half past twelve, when a lady with a trolley full of sweets knocked on their compartment door before she slid it open.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Harry wasn't particularly hungry, but he caught the way Ron's ears went pink as the boy mumbled about having brought his lunch. Inwardly sighing at that part of him that felt sorry for the red head, he stood and stepped out into the corridor. "Something of everything please." A huff behind him had him smiling softly. "Do you have anything for big cats?"

"Familiar, dear?" She gave him a smile, dimples curving on her cheeks.

"Yeah, a leopard."

She handed over a large package wrapped in black paper. "There's a stasis charm on that, keeps it nice and cool. There'll be some water in dishes, and some dried pellets of meat. All I've got for felines like yours I'm afraid. It's rare to have such a predator bonded to you."

He smiled back at her, thanking her for the package, and paid her seventeen sickles and five knuts. He took the bundle of food back into the compartment, kicking the door closed and nudging Kerus off the seat. He placed the black package on the floor, unwrapping it so that the leopard could eat. Ron frowned at all the sweets he'd gotten.

"Hungry, are you?"

Figuring it would be better to pretend he hadn't even thought of the other boy, Harry nodded, "Starving, didn't bother to eat this morning."

The red head had unwrapped a lumpy looking package with four sandwiches. "She always forgets I don't like corned beef, my mum I mean."

"Swap you for one of these?" He held up a pastie, inwardly blanching at the way he was actively trying to brighten the down attitude of the red head. "Go on--."

"You don't want one of these, it's all dry." He sighed and fiddled with a piece of the paper the sandwiches had been wrapped in. "She hasn't got much time, with five of us, you know."

Harry sighed. "Look, my eyes are bigger than my stomach, so I doubt I could get through all of these before we arrived. I just spent that money, so why don't you eat what you want?"

Ron gave in at that, and they sat in silence, eating their way through the pile of sweets. Harry picked up a Chocolate Frog and opened it up. There was an old wizard in the picture, with a crooked nose, half moon glasses and long flowing silver hair and beard. He heard an angry hiss and glanced at Kerus. "What is it?"

"_Look at the name._"

He looked at the scripted writing below the picture and frowned. _Albus Dumbledore_. This was the man his parents actively worked to stay away from; this was the man who would be in charge of his safety and education. He flipped it over as he munched on the frog.

_Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts_

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,_

_Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat_

_of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of_

_the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy_

_with his partner, Nicolas Flamel, Professor Dumbledore enjoys_

_chamber music and tenpin bowling._

He scowled as the little Dumbledore in the picture smiled up at him. "Do you want this?" He turned it so Ron could see it.

"No," the boy shook his head. "I've got plenty of him. I'm looking for Agrippa and Ptolemy."

Harry looked at the rest of the Chocolate Frogs. "Have the rest, I don't feel much like chocolate any more."

**A/N: **Next chapter we meet Blaise Zabini! And, of course, everyone who helped me with his nationality and such, will be given due credit.


	5. Hogwarts

**Speech Key**

"blah blah blah." Normal speech.

"_blah blah blah._" Familiar speech, could also be word emphasis or spells.

_Blah blah blah_ Word emphasis, spells, or letters

**A/N:** I would like to thank the following people for their help on the nationality of Blaise Zabini: **kaja1234**, **Misplaced Angel**, **Poison belle**, **history**, **Lady Silverhawk**.

Thankyou to **Darshu** for giving me the name of the actor who plays Blaise in HBP, and for the origional origins of the name 'Zabini'; **artemyl** for the origins of both his names; **Kai Minomono** and **kyubifreak** for advice on skin tones; **Isabelle Eir** for always being ever so helpful. If I have missed you, please let me know and I'll add you in quick smart! (And just in case…sorry!)

**Chapter Five-- Hogwarts**

It wasn't until around two that their now companionable silence was broken again, since a boy had poked his head in asking if they'd seen the Boy Who Lived's toad, which of course they hadn't and Harry had been so annoyed by the gushing tone that had been used that he told the boy that if he happened across a toad he'd throw him out the window rather than give it back to anyone. Ron had ranted for a short while on not annoying or upsetting Neville Longbottom, as he'd heard that he had been a little fragile since the death of his parents. Harry didn't have anything to say to that, or, at least, nothing he'd want to say out loud.

There was a crash and loud yelling somewhere down the train and a boy's voice calling, "excuse me, coming through, move it!" before their door was yanked open and a dark boy slammed it shut, leaning his head on it and breathing fast. Voices and feet thundered past and the tense shoulders relaxed.

Kerus stood up, hackles raised, as he flattened his ears. The low warning growl he gave had the boy jerking around and staring at them all with wide eyes. His own familiar, a wildcat with golden fur and black bands around its legs and tail, hissed viciously at the leopard from where it couched by his feet. The boy looked down and blanched at the large snow leopard watching him with gold eyes.

"Er, hi?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Something we can do for you?" He ignored the way Ron seemed to beam at his inclusion.

"Um," the boy looked uncertain a moment, before he visibly steeled himself and straightened up. "Sorry for barging in, but…well, there's this kid, called Draco Malfoy, and he has these two huge goons, and he sent them after me. He seems to think I'm some sort of traitor…"

"Blood traitor?" Ron offered as his tiny monkey familiar chattered on his shoulder. "He calls me that too."

The boy blinked, and Harry noticed that despite his eyes looking extremely dark, there was a hint of some other colour in their depths. "Um, no. My family's neutral, they refused a side in the war. Malfoy's have always been Dark, and they don't take too kindly to everyone else."

Harry shrugged. "My family's neutral as well, but I suppose Malfoy's just trying to make himself bigger than he is."

The dark boy grinned at him, bending down to scoop his familiar up. Kerus instantly seemed to calm as Harry stroked his hand down his back. "Sorry about that, Kerus tends to be overprotective."

The leopard huffed, leaning into the caress a little more and purring slightly. "_Can you blame me?_"

"Your familiar speaks around others as well?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, so does my parents and my siblings. Everyone seems to think it's strange."

"Well, it is. But mine does as well."

"_Are we staying here?_" The wildcat rubbed his head against the boys chin.

The boy looked at them hesitantly, before sticking his hand out towards Harry. "My name is Blaise Zabini, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Harry smirked, shaking his hand. "Harry Potter, and it's a pleasure to be meeting you." He motioned towards Ron, who refused to shake the offered hand, eyeing Blaise with a concerned eye. "And this is Ron Weasley." He moved the sweet wrappers from beside him. "You're welcome to remain if you want."

"I'd like that, thanks."

Blaise Zabini turned out to be an interesting person, and certainly made for better conversation than Ron had, and Harry was beginning to feel quite comfortable in his presence, which helped Kerus to calm down even more. He knew that the Anistro was uneasy; he could no longer change form and would have to remain as his normal leopard self because that was how several people had seen him. Harry was busy wondering if anyone would have reason to object to his familiar, since it was true that large predators usually didn't bond themselves to a magical child. But then again, Kerus wasn't your usual feline.

The door to the compartment opened once more to reveal the same boy as before, who looked decidedly nervous when he spotted the frown on Harry's face, but he was accompanied by a girl who had already dressed in her Hogwarts robes. She had a head full of bushy brown hair, which Harry was sure could be tamed if she tried a bit more, and he could have sworn he saw a large tatty looking knot in it.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville Longbottom's lost it, you see, and we all want him to get his pet back."

Harry wrinkled his nose at the bossy voice. "I already told that kid with you, that we hadn't seen it. I believe he knows just what I'd do if I found it anyway."

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't the precious Boy Who Lived looking for it anyway, if it's his familiar…"

"It isn't his familiar," the girl said with a sniff. "It was a gift from his Gran. He's already got an owl, which the Headmaster gave him, and he's allergic to cats, you see?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't. But I still don't see why you're bothering us again." Harry frowned when her brown eyes landed on his wand, which had become visible in its holster when he moved his arm to sink his fingers into Kerus' fur. Her eyes than moved around the room, taking in the three familiars.

"Oh. You're all magically raised then?"

Ron blinked. "Well, yeah, so?"

She gave another sniff. "I don't think it's fair that you lot all get to take your…familiars with you, while people like me, who weren't raised in the magical world, don't have any."

"Well, that's because Muggleborns have to prove their magic to the world, don't they? And not all magically raised people get familiars. I've met a few Squibs who don't have any." Blaise shrugged when she narrowed her eyes. "And we can't exactly send them away, can we?"

She frowned at him, her nose wrinkling slightly. "It still isn't fair to the rest of us, is it? There should be equality in the magical world, since day to day things are much easier this side."

"Easier?" Harry blinked at her. "Exactly how is day to day things, let alone life, so much easier for us? You lot haven't had a real war since the 1940s, and a wizard was helping Adolf Hitler, granted Grindelwald used the Cruciatus curse so many times on the man that he broke his mind, which means that it was really a wizard war anyway."

"So?" She jutted her chin out and looked down at him. "You have magic, which makes simple things effortless."

Blaise looked confused for a moment. "But our wars are deadlier. Just because we can wave a wand and make things happen instantly, doesn't take the stress out of life. In fact, I think that being able to do things so easily makes life more stressful."

"You can die in a moment." Harry nodded at him, even though Ron was frowning at them.

"And most of your wars have to do with people like me! You all hate us."

Harry sighed. "Look, not all of us really care where you come from or how you were raised. It's just everyone always listens to those who stand in the forefront of a crowd, people who are driven by politics into their beliefs."

"And what is it that you believe?"

"That nothing so trivial as blood really matters."

"Which means, that you sit on the fence between the two thoughts." She huffed, glaring down at them. "Well then, I see just what sort you lot are! Prejudiced, and completely disrespectful!"

The door slammed shut and Ron shifted uncomfortably, even as Harry snorted. "Don't suppose she realises that people like Malfoy aren't likely to take her bossiness lying down?"

Blaise shook his head. "I doubt it, and Malfoy is likely to pick up on her status the second she opens the door." He glanced out the window, noting the darkening sky. "We better change, or we'll be stuck when we arrive."

The three of them stood, Harry and Ron pulling their robes from their trunks, while Blaise crept out the door, telling them he'd meet them when they got there. Harry pulled his black jacket off, shoving it into his trunk and pulling the long black robes over his green shirt. He pulled the silver snake clasp from his pocket and used it to pull the edges of the robe together over his chest. He ignored the gasp and wide-eyed look Ron gave when he noticed it.

Kerus was crouched on the seat, nose pressed against the glass. "_I believe we are almost there. I can see the castle in the distance._"

A voice suddenly rang through the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Harry sighed and tapped the lock on his trunk, cocking his head to hear the click. He looked at the leftover sweets and plucked a couple of boxes of _Beartie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans_ and shoved them into his pockets. He let Ron take the rest, wincing as the boy shoved it all into his robe pockets. Dropping his hand to rest on Kerus' head they joined the rest of the students in the crowded corridor. He tried to stop his heart from fluttering in nervous anticipation, but it was all for nothing because he didn't think he'd ever been so scared in his life.

When the train slowed and stopped, they were pushed along by the crowd until they were suddenly standing outside on a tiny platform. Blaise winded his way through the crowd, his familiars held in his arms.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

A lantern bobbed over the heads of the crowd, and in the small halo of light thrown about, Harry saw a bushy bearded man who towered over everyone else. He frowned, but walked over to the man, as he continued to call the first years to him. When he was sure he had everyone, he led them down a narrow path.

"Yeh'll be gettin' yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec!"

The path opened out at the edge of a black lake, which sent shivers down Harry's spine. The instant they all stepped out from the trees a series of gasps permitted the air. Indeed, Hogwarts looked truly magnificent from its perch on the side of a high mountain, with almost every window they could see glowing like a beacon in the night.

"No more'n four to a bout!" The tall man pointed his meaty finger at a fleet of little boats bobbing in the water by the shore.

Harry raised an eyebrow, but clambered into one anyway. Ron ended up in one with the bossy girl from the train, while Blaise and two boys climbed into his. It was a bit of a tight fit, seeing as Kerus was forced to lie in the middle of the boat. The boats moved off over the water, and they had to duck when they came to a low overpass before they finally reached an underground harbour. As they clambered out, the large man plucked an ugly looking toad from a boat and handed it wordlessly to Neville Longbottom who was surrounded by a group of other people.

The man then raised his fist and knocked three times on a large door, which swung open almost immediately. A woman, with grey streaked black hair and a stern expression, looked down at them with a haughty expression.

"Fir's years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thankyou, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

When she let them step through into the Entrance Hall, Harry heard more gasps but he merely sighed. There was a staircase facing them, which moved upwards, presumably to the upper floors. They were shown into a small empty chamber off the hall, before the woman stood before them and cleared her throat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, the start of term feast has yet to begin, so we do not want to keep the upper six years waiting to long. You will all be Sorted into your Houses before you can be seated. This will be very important, as your House will be your family here and any indiscretions will result in points being removed, while triumphs will earn the House points. There are four Houses, called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, which have their own history and each House has produced successful witches and wizards. At the end of each year the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, which is considered a great honour."

Harry sighed again, and Kerus shifted underneath his hand.

"Now, the Sorting Ceremony will take place before the rest of the school in only a few moments. I will make sure they are ready for us, before I lead you in. Please wait quietly." She turned and left through the door they'd entered through.

Soft murmurs and worried glances were cast about and Harry frowned. "Wonder how many people are here."

"_Perhaps a thousand, maybe less, maybe more._"

Blaise's familiar looked down at Kerus with almond shaped amber eyes. "_That is correct. There are fewer students though, for this year and the two above, since the war had been going on during that time._"

"_Fewer people willing to bring children into the world._" Kerus twitched his ears when several students screamed.

Twenty pearly white, transparent, ghosts had drifted through the wall, arguing fiercely before the one who looked like a little monk noticed them all. "New students! About to be sorted, I suppose?"

No one answered him and McGonagall shooed them away with a stern voice. "Now, I want you all to form a single line. Quickly now!" She cast a critical eye over them, nodding to herself when they managed to move into a single file. "Follow me."

It was odd, to see them move out of the chamber and back into the hall they'd been in before, which made Harry wonder why they had even gone into that small room in the first place, what with all the familiars moving carefully beside their bonded. Kerus was the largest of them all, and he padded silently beside Harry. Blaise reluctantly let go of his wildcat familiar and it leaped lightly to the floor. There were several different colourful birds and a few more cats, including one that looked a lot like a Japanese Bobtail. But there seemed to be more Muggleborns and muggle raised Half-bloods than magically raised children, which suited the idea that the magical world had been too involved in a war to reproduce much. The muggles would have had barely any idea of what was occurring just out of sight, and dozens of magical families had retreated into a world where they rarely ever used magic.

They were led through the large double doors and into the Great Hall, several times larger than the official dining room at Potter Manor. Harry bit his lip as his eyes swept over the hundreds of students watching them. Thousands of candles floated in mid-air over the four tables, which were coloured in green, red, blue and yellow. At the front of the hall another table was filled by the Hogwarts Professors, a purple cloth covering it. In the centre of that table, was a high backed gilded gold chair. Harry blinked when his vision clouded just as he laid eyes on the wizened form of Albus Dumbledore, and he curled his fingers into Kerus' fur as he continued to walk.

He could barley see what was truly around him, and was surprised when the vision was of Dumbledore speaking to a tatty looking hat. He'd never had a past vision, only ever one of the present. He couldn't hear what was going on, but he got the distinct impression that Dumbledore was attempting to force the hat's hand in relation to several students Sorting. The scene flashed and he felt even more confused when he saw Dumbledore speaking down to someone who he could not see. They felt familiar and a spark of rage burned within him, before fading with the vision. He frowned, even as he blinked to clear his foggy sight.

They were lined up in front of the students and Harry was uneasy when he was forced to put his back to Dumbledore. Kerus gave a low growl, his ears flattening and his tail flicking in agitation. He looked up to see that the ceiling looked much like a velvety black night sky. He almost snorted when he heard the bushy haired girl explain that it was bewitched, and that she'd read it in _Hogwarts: A History_. That book was the most prejudiced and boring piece of historical literature he'd ever laid eyes on. He felt sorry for the Muggleborns who would take it at face value.

McGonagall placed a four-legged stool before them and placed the exact same hat he'd seen Dumbledore talking to. He almost sneered when he realised that they would have to wear that in order to be Sorted. It was patched in many places and frayed along the edges, as well as being overly dirty. He wondered if anyone had ever thought to wash it, or if he was going to catch something from putting it on his head. He never quite trusted Wizarding ways of ensuring one did not get various things, such as head lice, from the amount of times a muggle raised child wore it. Especially when it was only brought out once a year.

He sighed, looking down at the faces that looked up at them. Some of the students were mumbling to each other, a low buzz of conversation hovering in the air. He looked down at Kerus. "Do you suppose it really matters where we end up?"

The leopard rubbed his head on his hand, gold eyes glinting up at him. "_What matters is that you remain comfortable. This is separation, and perhaps they believe it to be the only way. But it does not mean that we cannot influence the outcome._"

"I suppose you're right. Either way, I'm sure we'll be confronted by some form or prejudice." He sighed again and curled his fingers into the silvery white fur. "I wonder just how well we'll fit in."

**A/N:** Look! I finally got him to Hogwarts! Ahem, excuse me. Just a little hyper since I finally managed to procure myself a Marauders Map...although, it isn't the _complete_ map...

Next chapter will be the Sorting, so everyone who has been wondering where I'm putting Harry (or have already figured it out) will see then. Can't promise when that chapter will be posted though...

Now, though, I _really_ need you guys to help me out. I was going through Harry Potter Lexicon and a couple of other sites so I could get the names of all the kids in Harry's year, along with their Houses and Blood Status. However, I couldn't find their descriptions, and I'm failing to find them all in the books. Some may not actually be in there, but Rowling listed them as in Harry's year; she just never placed them into the books. If I could get either their actual descriptions, or even come up with some, that would be fantastic! Of course, I would give you credit where due. And loads of love and all that good stuff!

**Hannah Abbott**, _description only_

**Susan Bones**,_ description only_

**Mandy Brocklehurst**,_ description only_

**Stephen Cornfoot**,_ description only_

**Tracey Davis**, _description only_

**Kevin Entwhistle**, _description only_

**Wayne Hopkins**, _description only_

**Megan Jones**, _description and Blood Status_

**Morag MacDougal**, _description only_

**(Nathaniel) Moon**, _description and Blood Status_ (His name is of my own creation, Rowling never gave him a first name)

**Lisa Turpin**, _description and Blood Status_


	6. The Sorting Ceremony

**A/N:** I'm currently suffering from a serious bout of writer's block, which I affectionately refer to as _authoras blockus_. For any reader's here who also read my other regular fic, **Shadow's Secret**, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to get the next chapter out. It seems that when you combine the flu, house repairs, work, life, and parents who argue at the drop of a button, you loose some of your creativity and imagination. As for this story, I have a few chapters already written so I can at least update this in the meantime.

I'm still sort of following the books and once we get past the Potions class part, I'll be breaking off a fair bit, since most of the things in the book begin to happen to 'the Boy Who Lived Harry Potter'. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Thanks to **iluvchocs**, **Berkum**,** HPFAN88**, **Gabwr**, **Isabelle Eir** (Wayne Hopkins' description, when he comes about, will be all yours love!), **BrightFeather**, **cola**, **The Plot Bunny Whisperer**. All of you helped me in some way with the descriptions of the characters I asked for last chapter. This semi-quick update is for you guys!

**Speech Key**

"lalalala." Normal Speech

"_lalalala._" Familiar Speech, could also be word emphasis or spells, or singing.

_lalalalala._ Word emphasis, spells or letters, could also be used as thought speech, in this chapter used with Harry speaking to the Sorting Hat.

"_**lalalala.**_" Sorting Hat speech. Only for this chapter.

**Chapter Six-- The Sorting Ceremony**

The entire hall was silent, every eye focused intently on the hat upon the stool. Harry figured that it must be about to do something interesting, but for the life of him he couldn't think of what. If this was the Sorting Hat, which he strongly suspected, than it had the personality of the four Founders imbued within it. Perhaps that was the only true and unbiased thing that _Hogwarts: A History_ had mentioned in any relation to the original leaders of the school.

The hat twitched, and a large rip near the brim opened wide as if it were a mouth. Withholding a snort, Harry watched as the hat instantly became animated, bending a little, before it seemed to begin to sing.

_**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

_**but don't judge on what you see,**_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find**_

_**A smarter hat than me.**_

_**You can keep your bowlers black,**_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall,**_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat**_

_**And I can cap them all.**_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head**_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see,**_

_**So try me on and I will tell you**_

_**Where you ought to be.**_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor,**_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart,**_

_**Their daring, nerve and chivalry**_

_**Set Gryffindors apart;**_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff,**_

_**Where they are just and loyal,**_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true**_

_**And unafraid of toil;**_

_**Or yet in wise Ravenclaw,**_

_**If you've a ready mind,**_

_**Where those of wit and learning,**_

_**Will always find their kind;**_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin**_

_**You'll make your real friends,**_

_**Those cunning folk use any means**_

_**To achieve their ends.**_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid!**_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**_

The hall erupted into applause when the odd scratchy voice of the hat died out. The hat itself bowed to each table in turn and then became almost rigidly still, the rip at the front closing once more. Harry frowned, realising that the red table, which he rightly assumed to be Gryffindor, had been glaring at the green table, which had to be Slytherin, when the hat mentioned them. He thought it was hardly fair of them to be holding anything against the house.

McGonagall stepped forward, holding a scroll of parchment in her slim, gnarled hands. "When I call your name, you will put the hat on and sit on the stool to be sorted." Clearing her throat, she looked down at the list. "Abbott, Hannah!"

Little Hannah Abbott, with blonde pigtails, and a fluffy feline familiar, was quickly sorted into Hufflepuff, followed by Susan Bones who had a beautiful hawk familiar. Terry Boot ended up in Ravenclaw as well as Mandy Brocklehurst. The first Gryffindor was a girl was long brown hair, Lavender Brown, and just like the two before her, she lacked a familiar of any kind. He noticed the disapproving looks on some of the kids around him who he knew were old pure-blooded children, and a frown knitted his brows together. Kerus shifted under his hand, and a low purr vibrated through his body, erasing his worries and allowing him to merely watch the proceedings.

The very first Slytherin was a heavy set girl named Millicent Bulstrode, whose familiar looked similar to a German Shepherd, only slightly smaller and coloured black and amber with silver eyes. Michael Corner and Stephen Cornfoot both wound up in Ravenclaw, followed by two Slytherins and another two Ravenclaws. Justin Finch-Fletchley roughly pushed passed him before being Sorted into Hufflepuff, something which caused Blaise's familiar to snicker about.

"_Odd sort of Hufflepuff; I thought they were a friendly bunch?_"

Seamus Finnigan gave Gryffindor their second new member and as he stepped passed Harry felt an odd pull at his magic, which resulted in Kerus growling rather audibly. Every eye was on them until Anthony Goldstein was Sorted into Ravenclaw and Hermione Granger was called up. The girl from the train gave Harry and Blaise a terrible glare, which made her look a lot like she was squinting against a bright light. For a while the Hat was silent, and her face went from shocked to annoyed several times, before it finally called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Well, I guess neither of us need to worry too much about her now, do we?" Blaise smirked at him, looking rather relieved.

Ron shifted beside them and cleared his throat. "Maybe you two don't, but my whole family has been in Gryffindor."

Harry sighed. "You don't have to do everything they do Ron."

Two Slytherins, two Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw later, and Neville Longbottom was called up. As the nervous looking boy stepped forward, whispers broke out all over the hall, making the beautiful hawk on his shoulder shuffle its feathers in annoyance.

"_Longbottom_, did she say?"

"_The _Neville Longbottom?"

Harry rolled his eyes, even as the other students around him all craned forward to hear what was happening as the Hat fell over his eyes. Minutes passed and the Hat twisted this way and that, seemingly fighting a battle with the terrified boy beneath it. Harry felt immensely sorry for Neville; he seemed almost as if he would rather melt into the background, rather than be in the spotlight. Harry didn't blame him, because he was more than interested in living in the shadows for the next seven years of his life. The Hat finally made its decision and placed the Boy Who Lived into Gryffindor, amid peals of laughter as Neville shot off towards the red table, still wearing the Hat on his head.

When the hat was returned, two more students were Sorted before Draco Malfoy was called up. Harry cocked his head to the side and watched, as the Hat barely touched the head of pale hair before shouting out the House the blonde had wanted to be in. With a smirk on his face, Malfoy swept the Hat off and sauntered over to the Slytherin table.

Harry watched as a boy with silver eyes and golden skin, along with an Egyptian Mau familiar, was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Theodore Nott ended up in Slytherin along with Pansy Parkinson, and the Patil twins were split up with Padma going to Ravenclaw and Parvati to Gryffindor. Then a girl with pale skin and a smattering of freckles was Sorted into Gryffindor before, finally…

"Potter, Harry!"

Kerus gave a small snarl as loud whispers broke out among the purebloods, both old and new blooded, before they even took a step forward. Harry swallowed, and nodded at the sympathetic smile Blaise gave him.

"…heard the Potter's…"

"Traitors to both sides…"

"…look at his familiar, he's dangerous I say…"

"Odd one, isn't he?"

Harry allowed McGonagall to place the Hat atop his head, even as he worked to slow his breathing and heart rate, nearly jumping when he heard a small voice tickle his ear, "_**Hmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. A quick mind, oh my yes, and talent, more than I have seen in a great many years. Oh, now that's interesting…"**_

Harry only barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the dramatic flair the Hat was speaking with. _And what, is so interesting?_

**"_You have an ability I haven't seen since your mother attending here, but, oh, you have such control over it! The Sight is rare, Mister Potter, rare enough that the entire Wizarding world would hunt you down if they knew you possessed it at such a young age. Your mother was unaware of it when she came here, but has she learned to control it yet, hmm?"_**

_And how am I supposed to know? I don't regularly quiz my own mother on something she has had since before I was even thought of!_

**"_Calm down, calm down. It was merely a reflection. You have such control over it, yet it is still unconscious. Your own power would make you open to visions at any time in the day…yet you somehow manage to control it all…but where to put you?"_**

Harry growled, and he could feel the Hat shy away from him, bending atop his head. His hand still rested on Kerus' head, which lay warm on his knee, the golden eyes staring up at the Hat as if he would like nothing more than to pounce on it. Harry was even tempted just to whip it off and let the Anistro have at it. _How about Fluffy Unicorn? I hear it's the deadliest of the seventeen houses._

The Hat froze. "_**I beg your pardon? We have only four Houses he--."**_

_I bloody well know how many Houses you have here, but if you don't make a decision I'll simply tell my parents I want elsewhere!_

"_Very well. Your courage certainly knows no limits and you most certainly have daring so how about…"_

Harry knew, the moment the Hat began to talk about his courage and daring that he was one of the students Dumbledore was forcing its hand on. He could feel an angry rumble below his hand and a hiss followed it as Kerus turned his head. He curled his fingers into the soft fur at the leopards nape and tugged, desperately hoping his familiar would understand the action. _Do I belong there?_

The Hat paused, "_**Pardon?**__"_

_Where you are about to place me, do I really belong there? Look in my head; you know what I have seen._

The Hat sighed in his ear. "_**You were right, in what you Saw, and what you made of it, but what would you have me do?**_"

Harry very nearly gave in to the temptation to shake the silly Hat upon his head, but he didn't. Instead, he sighed and absently scratched behind Kerus' ear. _Put me where I truly belong. What happens after that, I will deal with._

"_**Very well. You seem to have inherited your father's stubbornness, as well as his willingness to face whatever comes his way head on. I wish you the best of luck, Mister Potter, and I hope you will find some measure of happiness within **_SLYTHERIN!"

The last part was shouted out to the hall, a hall that broke out into even louder whispers. Slytherin table however, was politely clapping, even though some of its members had narrowed their eyes menacingly. Harry stood up and gave the Hat back to McGonagall, before letting his hand fall back onto Kerus' head. His familiar snarled at one student sitting at the Ravenclaw table who'd been loudly whispering about the Potter family's bloody past, a past that had existed long before Hogwarts had even been built. He sat down at the table, next to Pansy Parkinson who turned hard blue eyes on him, her upturned nose twitching slightly. Her own familiar, a beautiful bird which looked much like a more refined Phoenix, trilled softly in her ear from its perch on her shoulder. She visibly relaxed after that, and cast Kerus an appraising glance.

"My name's Pansy Parkinson," she held her hand out, before raising the other to touch the wing of her familiar. "And this is Dea."

Harry raised an eyebrow and carefully took her hand, turning it over and bowing his head over it in a pureblood tradition that had existed for so long no one remembered how it had come about in the first place. "A pleasure, Miss Parkinson. My name is Harry Potter, and my familiars name is Kerus." The Anistro yawned widely, flashing his fangs, before laying his head on the bench between them. "Your familiars name is rather fitting. Dea, goddess."

Pansy gave him a small smile. "You know your Latin? Good, you'll find some like to quote things in it here."

It was the last thing she said to him before they turned back in time to see Gryffindor erupt into loud, deafening cheers as Ron shuffled down to sit beside his twin brothers. Kerus raised his head and let out a loud snarl, which carried over the noise and had several stuttering in their cheers. Ron shot him a grateful look and Harry returned it with a tight smile.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

Harry blinked and turned back, watching as Blaise sat down on the stool, his familiar leaping easily into his lap. Dark fingers curled into the wildcats fur as the Hat twisted on his head. After a short amount of time, it finally shouted out Slytherin and the relief the boy felt was visible to the whole hall. He stood up, cradling his familiar in his arms as he made his way down to the table amid the same polite clapping and narrowed eyes that Harry had received. He sat down beside him and exhaled slowly.

"That, was nerve wracking."

Harry snorted. "Right, and I suppose the prospect of spending seven years here isn't?"

Blaise paled and his familiar hissed at Harry, "_That wasn't very nice._"

Kerus rumbled as he slid beneath the bench to lie at Harry's feet, providing a warm foot rest. "_But it is the truth._"

Blaise swallowed, shaking himself slightly. "You know what I realised, Harry?"

"What?"

"We never told each other our familiar names."

Harry blinked. "Oh." He ignored the snickering he could hear beneath the table. "Kerus is the throw rug masquerading as a leopard beneath my feet."

"_I take offence to that._"

Blaise smirked. "Wonderful. This here," he scratched the back of his familiar and it purred, arching its back in pleasure. "Is Ferus."

Harry blinked. Ferus? Rather similar to Kerus. But it was Latin as well, so it was just mere coincidence, but he was certainly going to ask his mother about it at the first chance he got. "Latin, again. Does everyone name their familiars that way?"

Blaise shrugged. "Probably. A lot of the old families prefer to stick to Latin when naming things that are important. We get that choice, you see. What language is 'Kerus'?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I don't know." He rubbed his shoe-clad foot along Kerus' stomach. "It just sort of came to me."

In fact, the statement was, in a way, the truth. Kerus had come to him already named, and his parents hadn't felt it necessary to even influence a change in name. The Anistro was old enough that it could be taken as an offence to do such a thing.

A shift in his peripheral vision caught his attention and he watched as Dumbledore stood, eyes twinkling and arms opened wide, almost as if this was the greatest day on earth and he was pleased to see them all where they sat. Harry might have fallen for it, if it weren't for the vision he'd seen earlier.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin a most delicious banquet, I would like to say a few words." He paused and looked over the hall, pausing on Neville and several others, including Harry and Blaise. "And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thankyou!"

Harry blinked rather dumbly for a few minutes, feeling almost as if a few of his brain cells had suddenly taken a vacation from his mind. Everyone clapped rather happily, cheering as the food appeared on massive dishes along the centre of each of the four tables. He shook himself and could feel Kerus snickering away, even as the rest of Slytherin shook off the strange words and continued on.

Pansy turned and looked at Harry uncertainly, "Is he a bit mad? Because, no one says things like that, without being a bit…you know."

Harry and Blaise both shrugged, suddenly uninterested in the strange behaviour of the headmaster. Harry knew he'd have plenty of time to see just how odd the old wizard was, but tonight he wasn't interested in figuring out why. He looked over the dishes before him—roast beef, roast chicken, pork and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, ships, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for a strange reason which he decided was Dumbledore's making, mint humbugs—and began to put a little of everything on his plate. In front and to the right of every student was a slightly smaller plate with a cursive 'F' on it. Like everyone else, Harry figured this was for the familiars, though he felt slightly off when he realised he'd have to put it on the floor for Kerus; he was used to the Anistro changing into a tabby and sitting by his elbow on the table.

A short time later, above the chatter of the hall, he heard a scream and looked up to see one of the ghosts righting his head and giving a grim sort of smile to Hermione Granger. Apparently someone had attempted to behead him and failed. Further down his own table, and sitting next to a very pale Malfoy, was another ghost, wearing blank eyes, a gaunt face and silver blood stained robes. Harry felt a little laugh building within his chest, but squashed it when the blonde boy glared at him. From what he could hear of the older years, this was their own House ghost, the Bloody Baron. He frowned; curiosity niggling and he wondered how hard it would be to find out who the ghost really had been.

After that, the plates cleared themselves and blocks of every flavour of ice cream you could think of, including several Harry was sure he never _would _have thought of, along with apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, jam doughnuts…he stopped looking then and reached forward to snag himself a couple of treacle tarts and an apple pie. The pie went down to Kerus who delicately ate it.

Harry ignored the talks of families and anything related to it, and he noticed Blaise and a boy across from them doing the same thing. He started when Kerus pushed his head up onto his lap. "Kerus?"

"_You should listen, master._"

He frowned at the title, one that Kerus used very little but still too often for his liking, before turning his attention to the front. The deserts had vanished and Dumbledore was once more standing. He caught the gaze of Severus and smiled at the slight twitch at the edges of the mans lips. He knew that his brother's godfather had an image to keep, but it was good to know he wouldn't miss out entirely on seeing the softer side to the hard man.

"Ahem. Just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give to you all. For our new students, please take note that the Forbidden Forest is named such for a reason and is, therefore, forbidden to all pupils. A few of our older pupils would do well to remember this as well." His twinkling eyes landed on Fred and George who simply gave him identical grins. "I have also been asked by our caretaker, Mister Filch, to remind you all that no magic is to be used between classes within the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held during the second week of term. Please contact Madam Hooch in you are interested in playing for your House team."

Harry caught Malfoy mumbling about how he'd like to try out, before the blonde mentioned his father. Shaking his head, he played with the little tuft of silver hair that stuck out from the black outline of Kerus' ears, the leopard purring at the contact.

"And finally, I must tell you that his year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who wishes to avoid a must painful death."

Harry gave a snort at this, not because it sounded rather silly when one considered the school was full of both new and curious students, but because most didn't even know where the damn corridor was, as evidenced by the blank blinks all around the hall.

"And now, before we send you all off to bed, let us sing the school song together!" Severus' blank face turned into a snarl as Dumbledore flicked his wand and a golden ribbon flew out of it to twist into words above the tables. "Everyone pick their favourite tune, come on now, and off we go!"

Harry winced as off tune singing and shouting pounded against his ears and he dropped his head to the table, looking into Kerus' laughing eyes, even though the Anistro had his ears pinned back. "Why us, Ker, why us?"

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us something worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

"Mum and dad didn't warn us about this."

The whole school finished singing at random times until only the Weasley twins were left. They had one arm wrapped around each others shoulders and were swaying slowly as they sang to a slow funeral march tune. Dumbledore was conducting them with his wand, which made him look even more foolish to Harry, and was the loudest of the clappers at the end. The twins gave an exaggerated bow before they plopped down at the same time.

"Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here! And now," Dumbledore said with a loud clap, "Bedtime. Off you trot!"

Harry rose with the rest of the Slytherin first years and followed a fifth year by the name of Marcus Flint who looked as if he'd been hit in the face several times by a bludger. The thought of it made Harry wince. Kerus butted his head against his hand, and he automatically rested it on the large square head. He threw a look over his shoulder and watched the enchanted ceiling for a moment, before he entered the dungeons.

**A/N:** The 'Fluffy Unicorn…deadliest of the seventeen houses' thing was stolen (in the nicest way possible) from **Disco-Dancing on the roof** who said it in one of her reviews while suffering from a temperamental internet connection and a brain dead mind. The minute I read it, I was suddenly faced with an image of Harry telling the Sorting Hat to put him there!


	7. The Lair of Serpents

**A/N:** Look! points to post finally let me upload something! I'm still having trouble though and just getting this uploaded took me almost two hours of non-stop attempts. For those who read **Shadow's Secret**, I sent if off for editing by my beta, and the chapter _is_ about 12,000 words long, so she's about halfway through right now.

I am sorry that this took so long, but I've written up to twelve chapters and I'm finishing up the one on Halloween. There are still some obvious canon lines in the story, but since my Harry has little to do with Boy Who Lived stuff, he won't be partaking in 90 of those things. Approximately. And in case no one read it...

This particular story, will include Years One and Two. **The Second Step**, will be three and four; **Breaking Point**, five and six; and **Until The End** for seven. Between each year within a particular story name will be a new set of warnings and stuff, as well as an updated summary. Currently this is the plan, and the summary for this story will be changing accordingly.

Thank you all for the reviews (and for **Disco-Dancing on the roof** for making me snort in amusement) and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!

**Chapter Seven—The Lair of Serpents**

Flint led them down the stairs into the dungeons, and through a labyrinth of passages. Harry spent most of his time trying to remember the twists and turns and attempting to figure out just what fit of insanity Salazar Slytherin must have been in when he decided to situate his House's dorms this far beneath the school. The Prefect stopped them at a bare expanse of damp stone wall, before turning to face them.

"You may, in the first few days, get a little confused by the path leading down here. A spell will be shown to you once Professor Snape arrives, so that if you _do_ get lost, someone will be able to find you. You'll find that the maze of corridors is essential, as most students from other Houses do not take lightly to our House. The password is to be kept in secret and given out under _no circumstances_!" He turned back to the wall, after carefully checking over all of them, and said in a soft, yet audible voice, "_Carpe Diem_."

The wall shifted and a stone door concealed within it shifted and slid open. As soon as he stepped into the room, warmth surrounded him like a warm blanket, and after the chill of the journey down there, he was grateful for it. The common room was a long, low ceiling room with rough stone walls and greenish lamps hanging from the ceiling on chains. A fire was crackling merrily within a large fireplace and above the elaborately carved mantelpiece was a painting of Salazar himself, whose grey eyes watched in interest as they were herded further in. Soft, black rugs had been thrown over the floor to keep the chill away and plush deep green armchairs and lounges were scattered about the room. Several finely polished mahogany tables were placed around the chairs.

Flint urged them to sit on the chairs, reassuring one of the girls that none of the older years would be entering the room until their Head of House had finished his welcoming speech. Harry settled down between Blaise and the boy who'd been sitting across from them. He was rather pale, though he looked more sick than anything and his ferret familiar was winding its way about his neck, chittering to him softly in a reassuring sort of way.

Harry, taking pity on the boy, turned to him and tried to give him a small smile. "Hello. My name's Harry Potter."

The boy blinked deep blue eyes at him and nodded. "I'm Theodore Nott."

Blaise looked around Harry and cocked his head to the side. "Blaise Zabini."

Harry rolled his eyes, "nice, Blaise. You introduce yourself so fluidly."

The dark boy grinned unrepentantly. "A gift, Harry."

The door to the common room slid open and the soft hum of talk suddenly died. Harry looked over and gave a smile to Severus who nodded in his direction, as well as Malfoy's. Harry gave a small frown, before he remembered the incident in Diagon Alley. Malfoy was Severus' other godchild, and from what he could see, a bit of a spoiled brat. The man stalked into the room, his expression slightly softer than it'd been in the hall, and stopped before the fireplace. "Thankyou, Flint."

Flint nodded before taking a seat towards the back to watch over them. Severus looked over them all and Harry could see his mind working through who they each were, who would be a problem and who could bring glory to the House. Harry had often listened as Severus told him of who had actually managed to surprise him in his first assessment of them. He'd always been amazed though by how often the man was correct.

"Welcome to Slytherin House. As I'm sure Mister Flint has already hinted at, the other Houses do not take too kindly to our own, as prejudices that far surpass that of blood come into play. While you are within this House, I want to hear of no fight occurring between you all outside this room. You are to show loyalty to one another and to the House motto, _'Wherein lies the true strength'_. No other House has any form of motto, and Salazar Slytherin strongly believed that strength came from magic, not brute force."

He looked around the room again. "No matter what you have all grown up with, ones blood status and political standing matters very little here." Murmurs began to rise from the children of old pureblood families. Harry shifted, even as Severus raised his voice. "Silence! I will not tolerate such closed mindedness within this House while I am the Head! If it eases any of you," and he looked quite pointedly at Malfoy as he said this. "Then know that I myself am a half-blood."

Harry was the only student not blinking rather stupidly at him, since he'd known when he was seven that the man he loved to listen to and learn from had managed to overcome the taint that came with muggle blood. He winced when he saw the way Malfoy shook his head in utter denial of the fact.

"As for familiars, many of you have grown up isolated from large groups of them and have yet to learn the proper etiquette when one approaches such a being." Severus stroked his own familiar, a beautiful grey Timber wolf whose intelligent amber eyes watched them all carefully. "You are, under no circumstances, to even attempt to touch another's familiar. If the creature touches you first, refrain from returning the favour, as they are likely to take offence. As almost all familiars are only capable of conversing with their master or mistress," his dark eyes landed on Harry and Blaise who both blinked back. "You will have to request permission to touch from them first."

With a sigh, Severus flicked his wand and a scrap of paper suddenly appeared in front of each of them. Harry plucked his from the air and blinked down at the spell on it, _flavutilla_, a spell for yellow sparks. "This spell is to be learned and memorised immediately. It requires no particular movements, but it will help us in locating you should you lose your way through the halls on the way here. I must stress that you should not wander about, as you could happen upon any number of dangerous items. Most of the upper levels of the school have been checked for such things, but the dungeons are a labyrinth and even teachers loose their way."

The students all blinked back at him, and a few even attempted to stifle a yawn. The dinner had been filling and the warmth of the room was slowly pulling them all towards sleep. Kerus, from his sprawled position in front of Harry, flicked his tail and watched in mild amusement as the two heavyset boys flanking Malfoy flinched at the movement.

"Now, I want you all to go up into your dorms, Mister Flint will show you the proper rooms. The doors have your names on them so there are no excuses for being found in the wrong rooms, _ever_." As Flint started to herd them towards two corridors, splitting them up into two lines, with the girls on the left and boys on the right, Severus called out, "Misters Potter, Zabini and Nott. Please remain behind a moment."

Harry blinked and shrugged when Blaise turned questioning eyes onto him. They watched quietly as their housemates all vanished down the corridors, doors opening and closing shut. When Flint came back out, Severus led the three of them outside, where they once more waited, this time until the rest of the house filtered in through the door. A chorus of 'goodnights' were directed towards Severus, who nodded in recognition and bidded them all to bed.

When they were finally alone, Harry stared until Severus finally shifted uneasily, before finally breaking out into a grin. "Aren't you glad I'm here, Uncle Sev?"

Blaise and Theodore gasped, shocked looks covering their features, which made Kerus snicker by Harry's feet. "Harry!"

Severus shook his head and gathered Harry into a tight hug, and he tucked his head under the older mans chin, allowing the warmth of such a rare and prized gift spread through him. "You were not so much a surprise, Harry."

"I know," his voice was muffled by the thick black robes the man wore. "But still, dad was hoping I'd end up in Gryffindor."

"And terrify them all?" He hummed. "Come to think of it, you'd do rather well in that regard."

Harry laughed softly and pulled back out of the embrace. "Maybe. What's wrong, anyway?"

Severus gave him a sad look, before he bestowed it upon the two boys who were still blinking in shock. "As I am sure the three of you are already aware of, many people in the Wizarding world do not take kindly to neutral based families, let alone the individual members. I am afraid that your house mates will be rather cruel at times, and I hope, rather foolishly, that they may show some form of maturity."

Blaise swallowed. "You're saying that we should be alert?"

"Yes," the man nodded, his hair swaying with the movement. "I would not put it past the older years to take out some form of misguided punishment for whatever it is your family has done. Many of your house members will be on the side of the Dark, and the idea of neutrality has not been put before them in any logical fashion."

Theodore shrugged. "No different to everyone else then."

"Indeed." He pulled Harry into another rare hug, with a squeeze at the end, before he nodded at Blaise and Theodore. "You'd best be off to bed. Tomorrow is your first day, and I won't have students from my House slacking off."

Once they were back inside, Flint pointed them down the right hand corridor, where they found a door with a silver plaque on it. Engraved on the metal, in elegant flowing swirls was: **FIRST YEAR** _Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Harry Potter, Blaise Zabini_. With a shrug, Harry pushed the highly polished door open, to reveal their new room. Six four-poster beds were situated around the semi-circular room and were hung with deep green velvet curtains and covered with black silk covers, the Slytherin House emblem embroidered in silver.

Crabbe and Goyle were munching away at some desserts they'd managed to sneak down from dinner, spreading crumbs onto their beds, which were situated to the left of the door. Malfoy was curling his lip in muted disgust atop his own bed in the middle, but when they walked in his head snapped around and he sneered at them.

"Well, what do you know, the traitors have finally slunk in!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Wonderful, he actually has the ability to perceive the goings on around him."

"How will we survive?" Blaise pressed his hand to his forehead and mock fainted against the now closed door.

Malfoy stood up, stalking over to them. "How dare you! Filth such as yourselves should not even be pressed upon a presence such as mine!"

Theodore blinked, and leaned over to whisper into Harry's ear, "sounds like something his father would say." He shrugged, and wandered over to his own bed. He wrinkled his nose when he realised he'd be next to the blonde for the next seven years.

"Look, Malfoy, I don't much care what your problem is, but stay away from me, and I'll leave you be. How's that?"

The blonde simply stepped forward, before he suddenly back peddled. Kerus was crouched before Harry, lips curled back as he snarled. His ears were pressed back and his tail flicked as a predatory gleam entered his golden eyes. "_Step any closer, wizard, and I'll show you what 'presences' such as yourself deserve!_"

He swallowed. "Call it off, Potter."

"Kerus isn't an 'it'." Harry brushed past and flopped down onto his own bed, sighing at the soft mattress. "Besides, he's a free thinking individual. You want him to back off, talk him into it."

Theodore was blinking at Kerus, his blue eyes watching the leopard carefully. "I don't think I've ever heard a familiar speak to anyone besides their master before. I thought they couldn't actually."

Ferus yawned, stretching out on Blaise's bed. "_Our ability depends on our master, and our own powers._"

"Potter!"

Harry sighed and pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Kerus."

The Anistro hissed, settling even further into the hunting crouch he'd taken. "_Yes?_"

"Hop up." Harry patted the bed beside him and waited patiently until the leopard finally decided to move. He gave Malfoy's legs a playful swipe, which missed by almost thirty centimetres but still caused the blonde to squeak, before he padded over to Harry, leaping easily onto the bed and curling up against him. "Thank you."

Malfoy swallowed and returned to his own bed. Each of them shuffled around a bit, changing into their bedclothes before slipping between the silk sheets and drifting off. Harry allowed Kerus to curl up beside him under the covers, one arm wrapped around the warm feline. Soft purrs filled the room, covering up the light snores coming from Crabbe and Goyle and Harry sighed before finally relaxing.

* * *

The next day, Harry was nudged awake by tickling whiskers brushing over his face. He screwed his nose up and blinked his eyes open. Kerus was standing over him, gold eyes boring into his own. "_You need to wake up, breakfast will not last much longer._"

Harry groaned, rolling over as soon as the leopard had jumped to the floor. He sighed and watched as Malfoy ordered Crabbe and Goyle to find him his precious eagle feather quill. With a scowl on his face, Harry left the warm confines of his bed, glancing at Kerus as the Anistro watched the proceedings of the blonde beside Ferus and Theodore's ferret familiar. He'd have to remember to ask what the small creature's name was.

Taking his wand from the holster he'd left on during the night, he tapped his trunk and flipped it open. He pulled out a pair of dark stone grey jeans and a black shirt with silver flowing lines wriggling all over it, forming the whispery image of a Thestral at standing rest. Stifling a yawn, he made his way into the adjoining bathroom. Six shower stalls, with locking doors, made up the majority of the room, along with three smaller cubicles and three urinals. He made his way into one of the stalls, leaving it open for Kerus who padded in and up onto a shelf off the floor.

"You know, that's meant to be for my clothes."

"_You have heard of drying charms?_"

Harry snorted, but pushed the leopard off anyway. His familiar quickly changed into the two foot long winged serpent he always was when Harry showered. Placing his clothes on the shelf, he stripped out of his sleepwear and stepped into the partially closed off shower part. Two silver knobs, in the shape of dragon's heads, set with ruby and aquamarine eyes, for hot and cold respectfully, controlled the temperature and water flow. He fiddled with the knobs until the water coming from the showerhead, which was an open mouthed serpent, was coming out slightly cooler than scalding.

A short time later, a wet haired Harry and damp pawed Kerus, back in his leopard form, entered back into the bedroom, only to find Malfoy declaring that Theodore must have stolen the same quill he'd had Crabbe and Goyle searching for. With an exasperated sigh, Harry flicked his wand, "_accio eagle feather quill_."

There was a slight rustle, before the quill in question, a pale gold one, zoomed out of the blonde's trunk and into Harry's waiting hand. "This it?"

Malfoy blinked before he puffed his chest up. "Thankyou, Potter, good to know you realise your place."

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy, it's too early to deal with this on the first day." Blaise rubbed at his eyes and pushed a scroll of parchment into the black shoulder bag that had appeared by their beds the night before.

Harry shrugged and placed his pyjamas into the nook in the wall labelled, _Dirty_. He picked his own bag up and put his parchment notebook, several ink bottles and a couple of his own quills, the silver and black phoenix ones that Kerus had given him, into it. He pulled his robe on and used the silver snake clasp to close them over his chest, rather than the plain one that Madame Malkin had tried to attach to them. He quite liked the clasp that Sirius had asked his father to ensure he got for his birthday, and it fit quite well now that he was in Slytherin.

Once Theodore had gotten himself together, after frantically looking for his own inkwells, the three of them made their way down to the Great Hall. Along the way, Harry caught sight of Neville, who was desperately trying to avoid the staring people who stopped in the corridor to watch him pass them. Breakfast was incredibly loud, and Harry caught Kerus mumbling about scaring them all into silence. It was just before Severus rose from the Head Table, that Harry remembered his question for Theodore.

"Theodore?"

The boy blinked and looked up. "Um, call me Theo."

Harry smiled. "I was wondering, what's your familiars name?"

"Oh. It's Niveus."

Harry glanced at the ferret and decided it suited the small creature. Niveus was Latin for 'snowy' and the ferret was a soft mix of grey and cream. He quickly introduced Kerus, who huffed from beneath the table, and Blaise absentmindedly named his own.

"Look, I think it's time for our timetables."

Severus stopped beside them all, since the first years were all clustered at one end, and began handing out the pieces of parchment. Their first lesson was Transfiguration, taught by McGonagall, with the Ravenclaws. Harry picked up a piece of toast before he followed his year mates back down to the dungeons so they could collect their books—Transfiguration, History of Magic, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts—before heading off into their first lesson.

The moment they entered into McGonagall's classroom and sat down, she began to outline the rules for her classes, which ended up being the basic 'no yelling, running or silly stuff' that he'd learned to expect when he'd gone to muggle summer schools. But being both strict and clever she immediately began to talk to them about her subject.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. The art of changing one object into another must be understood completely before you even attempt a new transfiguration."

After several pages of notes, they finally began to work on changing a match into a needle, the process of which was disrupted by the unruly familiars who had never been introduced into such a strict environment. Kerus had snarled several times at Padma Patil's Scarlet Rosella when the red and blue bird had flapped too close. By the end of the lesson, Harry had managed to make his turn into metal, but there was no eyehole and the point was rather blunt; he was awarded five points for it. A Ravenclaw named Su Li, had somehow turned her's into a fully formed needle and was given ten points along with a rare smile from McGonagall.

History of Magic for Harry, and everyone else, even the Ravenclaws they had it with, was merely an excuse to catch up on sleep. Harry spent the time blinking blearily at the pages of his book and listening to Kerus murmur about how much fun it would be to chase a ghost who seemed to be under the impression that he was still alive and kicking. Turned out Professor Binns had simply died in the staff room and gotten up the next day to teach again.

Herbology with the Hufflepuffs was held in the greenhouses behind the castle and was taught by Professor Sprout, who adamantly refused to allow their familiars into any of the greenhouses. Even her own familiar, a tiny lizard with a flicking tongue, remained outside.

"_I refuse,_" Kerus snarled, placing his body before Harry's and dropping into a crouch.

Harry sighed and kneeled, running his hands along the soft fur and soothing the raised hackles. "Kerus, I'll be fine."

The leopard hissed, gold eyes gleaming in the shadows thrown by the buildings. The students around them were all reluctantly talking their own familiars into remaining outside, but Harry knew that Kerus was aware of how much danger was present, more so than the others because of his own magical heritage. "_I will not leave your side, for any reason._"

"Mister Potter, is there a problem?"

Harry looked up. "Sorry, professor, but Kerus doesn't want to stay out here."

"It's only for a little while, and it's for their own protection, lots of plants that could harm them in here."

"_I am here for your protection, and I am not some stupid cat who sniffs at anything._"

"I know, Ker, but, please?"

The Anistro looked up at him and nodded, resigned to the fact he had no choice. "_If I hear anything..._"

"Then you have my permission to storm in."

For some very strange reason, one that Harry really didn't understand, everyone was looking forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts. From what he'd seen when he flicked through the book, it was nothing special and seemed rather elementary. He supposed that the Muggleborns wouldn't know a lot of it, and maybe that was why it had become so simple. His father had shown him his old books and they looked a lot harder than his own.

The Professor, Quirrell, was a rather odd man with an overly pronounced stutter that set Harry's nerves on end. His classroom smelled of nothing but garlic, and more on top of that, and he merely quoted from their book, or attempted it at least. Harry spent his time frowning at the purple turban he wore and wrinkling his nose when the man passed by him. It smelled rather odd, and while the others were content to think that it was full of garlic as well, Harry agreed wholeheartedly with Kerus on the matter; something was definitely weird about the man.


	8. Potions and Hospital Wing Friendships

**A/N:** The real note is down the bottom so you all don't have to wait any longer to get to the chapter!

**Dedicated to everyone who has been patient and to those who reviewed!**

**Chapter Eight—Potions and Hospital Wing Friendships**

On Friday, Harry could barely stop himself from bouncing all through breakfast. They had double Potions today and he was looking forward to learning something from Severus again. Kerus had, despite the protests Pansy had attempted, settled himself down on the bench and was happily munching away at the bacon on his own plate. Harry relaxed somewhat at something that was a little more normal than what had been going on for the last few days. The large rooms and corridors and the odd feeling of being watched by ghosts and other students had begun to get to him and he'd refused to even eat in the Great Hall the night before.

He'd written to Adriel within the journal she'd given him and he'd almost bounced up and down with glee when she replied immediately.

**Okay, the first day, dear sister, was absolutely…crap. Nothing like what I expected and the DADA teacher is more than a joke. All I get from the other kids is glares and whispered murmurings and I just know that the older ones in Slytherin are planning something. But at least I have two others in the same boat. How come we never knew Zabini and Nott were neutral families?**

_**Hmm. Well, at least Uncle Sev wasn't wrong; you did get into Slytherin. And didn't I tell you that Defence was going to bore you? After all, Michael read the whole book and he only learned that vampires can walk in sunlight after all, if their sire is rather powerful first. You are using dad's Map aren't you? You can always check to see what Slytherins are hanging around together and keep an eye on what they do; just don't become paranoid before we arrive next year. As for the two you mentioned, neutral families don't exactly advertise it, do they? We were unlucky.**_

Harry had barely paid attention in Charms and he'd jumped when little Professor Flitwick fell off his stack of books after saying Neville's name. The feather had been easy to levitate, since his mother had taught him the spell years ago in Japan, and he'd amused himself by making it dance, without the professor even noticing once. Astronomy had equalled less sleep on a Wednesday night, but they started later the next morning to make up for it. But since breakfast was served at a particular time, they still had to get up at the usual time in order to eat.

When it was finally time to head down to Potions, Kerus darted ahead of him on the stairs, clearing a path simply by the low rumble he gave. From experience, Harry had learned that some students were rather cruel when walking on the stairs and they tended to either shove you away or block and slow you down considerably. He was glad that he had such an overprotective familiar, because the worst of the perpetrators had backed off after a silver paw had swiped at their robes.

The Potions classroom was dark and gloomy, suiting Severus well, and the walls were lined with animals floating with jars. He peered into some of them, curious about their contents, but when one of them moved, he jumped back and tried to ignore the snickering that came from Malfoy's direction. Frowning, he settled down next to Blaise with Kerus sprawling out in front of them, gold eyes alert. The Gryffindors slowly trickled in and Harry sighed when he noticed an obvious break in the whole class. The Slytherins sat on one side, and the Gryffindors on the other, with a whole row of seats left empty between them.

It was sad to see such separation, but he saw that no one else seemed to mind it and when Severus strode into the room, he barely even noticed it. As the man went through their roll, he paused on Neville's name and lifted his head to pin the poor boy with black eyes that held none of the warmth Harry was used to seeing.

"Ah. Neville Longbottom, our new _celebrity_."

Kerus gave a low hiss and Severus' familiar flicked her ears in their direction. Severus glanced down at the leopard, before continuing on with the roll. When he finished, he fixed the class with a hard glare, and started to pace before them all. Harry watched, wondering exactly how the man had managed to gain a reputation for being one of the most hated teachers in the school. He'd heard plenty of talk in the Slytherin common room, and when he'd managed to have a quick chat with Ron on Wednesday, the red head had told him that all the new Gryffindors were terrified of him already.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand waving, those of you who have grown up within muggle environments will have _some_ of the required technique. You will notice that it has some similarities with the art of Chemistry, though this is far more dangerous and you will often not be awarded a second chance." Coal black eyes flicked around the room, landing on each of the muggle borns. Hermione Granger looked about ready to fly off her chair, her eagerness making several other kids wince.

"Many of you will not believe this to be true magic, and I don't expect you to truly understand the beauty of softly simmering cauldrons, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins. I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even how to put a stopper in death…" he narrowed his eyes as some of the Gryffindors began to whisper to each other. "If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Harry barely stifled the laughter that bubbled up from within his chest. On the one hand, he'd been listening to Severus' mumblings about how incompetent his students were for most of his life, and on the other hand…well, the Gryffindors were certainly an amusing bunch. In the silence that followed, Severus walked between several of the desks until he came to rest before Seamus Finnigan, whose grey husky familiar gave a snort from his position next to the Gryffindor in protest to the face looming close to them.

"Finnigan! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Seamus blinked, a rather confused expression flitting over his face. His familiar gave a soft growl, and he shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know, sir."

Severus ignored the way Hermione's hand had shot into the air, and looked around the room for a moment. His eyes landed on Neville and, after a quick glance down at Kerus, he spoke to the now quivering boy. "Longbottom…where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione's hand stretched even further into the air. Neville swallowed nervously, and when he spoke his voice shook ever so slightly. "I-in the belly of a g-goat, sir."

Severus raised an eyebrow and nodded, before turning to find his next victim. Harry blinked when those cold eyes warmed as they found him. "Potter, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Kerus huffed and his head landed on Harry's feet, making him wince since they'd become cold from the draft creeping about the room. "There is no difference; they are the same plant. One can also find them under the name of aconite."

"Very good. As for the first question," he threw a glare at Seamus who frowned and lowered his head. "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Living Death. All of you are to write this down before separating into pairs for the potion we are to brew. Quickly!"

Harry pulled out his notebook and carefully extracted one of his quills. As he was writing down a quick set of notes on the three questions, he noticed that Theodore was frowning at his quill from his seat next to Blaise. Without looking up or stopping in his writing, Harry asked softly, "what's up, Theo?"

The boy bit his lip before stretching over and picking up one of the quills on Harry's desk, only to drop it when Kerus gave a warning growl as his head popped up beside them. "Sorry. But, what are these?"

Blaise blinked down at the feather. "Is that…"

Ferus yawned from his position on Blaise's lap, his gold and black banded tail flicking from side to side. "_Phoenix feather._"

Theodore's blue eyes widened. "How'd you get a phoenix feather quill? I know the Potter's are a rich family, but I've never even _heard_ of someone gaining a quill like that unless they own a phoenix."

Harry shrugged, looking rather nonchalant about the whole thing despite the icy cold sliver of fear that was working its way through his veins. "A few phoenixes turned up at the estate a few years ago. Dad started up an area for them so they could breed in safety. They gave us some feathers and mum made these for me." It was true, some phoenixes _had_ been residing within the Potter estate for the last few years, but they had been Fire Phoenixes.

"You died them then?"

He looked up at Theodore, who was frowning at the mostly silver feathers, the single black stripe that curved over it the only other indication for colour. When Kerus was a phoenix, he was one of the rarer ones. "No, they're Arctic Phoenixes, and I think there might be a Snow one there now."

Theodore simply stared at him, his mouth falling open in shock. "A-arctic? Merlin, Harry, do you know how rare they are?"

"Despite the rarity of any form of animal, this is not helping any of you begin with this class' potion." Severus stood before them, hard eyes trained on the three of them, even as his lips twitched in the attempt to not smile. Harry blushed and mumbled an apology, standing to gather the required ingredients as Theodore reluctantly paired off with Pansy.

The rhythm of slicing and crushing soothed Harry's nerves and it even helped to calm down Kerus, who finally stopped huffing. The only sign of his familiar's emotions was the seemingly random flick the black tip of his tail gave. Harry knew it wasn't random, knew that every flick was in fact a count of the number of times someone got too close for the Anistro's liking. The gold eyes may have been closed but Harry was definitely not fooled. His familiar knew exactly where everyone was in the classroom and had, most likely, already memorised each of their individual scents. It was odd, to feel the warmth of the silky fur against his leg when he had gotten so used to Kerus being a falcon or a ferret while he worked on potions, using his shoulder as a vantage point to ensure he made no mistake and didn't add a volatile ingredient at the wrong time.

Severus had told him it was a unique bond he and Kerus shared, one that he should never take lightly, nor for granted.

There was a loud hiss and Harry looked up to see acrid green smoke filling the room. He coughed when he inhaled some and his focus swam for a moment. It took him a moment to realise that Kerus was anxiously trying to get his attention. "_Harry! Get onto the stool, now!_"

He didn't even question the command. He reached back and felt for the stool, sitting himself down on it and bringing his legs up. He could feel Kerus leap up onto the table and wondered why he could still hear a potion hissing away. His eyes focused on the blurry shapes of people around him and he could dimly hear Severus scolding someone, but he couldn't quite focus on any of it.

"_Severus._"

A dark shape loomed over Harry, broken by the silver one he knew to be Kerus crouched on his desk. "Harry? Can you see me?"

"If you count yourself as a big black blob."

The man sighed. "Finnigan!" he barked out and Harry heard a small 'eep' from somewhere to the right. "Take Mister Potter along as well, and be sure to make it to the hospital wing!"

"_You think I would allow something to happen to him?_" Kerus sounded angry as he jumped to the floor and Harry laid his hand on his head when it bumped against him. "_You insult my abilities._"

"Only the abilities of the foolish children surrounding you both."

Kerus huffed, but started to walk forward, at a pace with which Harry could feel out the blurry surroundings and not fear tripping over anything. "_Perhaps doubting the abilities of these wizards is not terrible for our health, master._"

"Don't call me that," Harry said absently. He could sense Seamus and another person just in front and to the left of him, presumably someone who had been injured by whatever had happened to someone's potion. "What happened though?"

It was an Irish voice that answered him, instead of the rumbling tones of his familiar. "You didn't see? Merlin, you were injured but you didn't even see what happened?"

"I was a little busy being blinded by green smoke if it's alright with you, Finnigan."

Kerus growled softly, "_you'd do well, wizard, to remember I'm not as cuddly as others around you._"

"Kerus, don't threaten him."

"_He insulted you!_"

"And he has the right to do that. Since we have never been to the hospital wing, we both have to trust him. So please, don't antagonise him."

The leopard huffed but said no more.

"You'd trust a Gryffindor?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and blinked, his eyes beginning to sting a little. "My parents were both Gryffindors, as was my godfather and his mate. Just because I was the first Potter to end up in Slytherin doesn't mean I'm going to fall prey to this stupid House rivalry. My dad would skin me alive if I did."

"Sorry." The boy was quiet for a while, except to warn him that they were stepping onto a staircase. The movement of Kerus' head helped guide him up each step. "I didn't grow up in the Wizarding world, and despite knowing all about it, my mum never really wanted to talk about the old families."

"You're a halfblood?"

"And so are you. Didn't James Potter marry a Muggleborn?"

Harry shrugged. "It makes me a pureblood in a way. Two magical individuals cancels out pretty much all of my mother's muggle blood. She was all witch anyway."

He heard a whimper and then Seamus whispering before the boy answered him. "I never though of it that way. But me mum's a pureblood, and dad's a muggle, so I'm still just half and half."

"Not a bad thing."

"Maybe not to you. Other's disagree."

There was silence, except for the sound of their footfalls and the soft clicks as Seamus' husky familiar padded along. Everything was still blurry to Harry, shapes and looming colours that made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever. He kept his hand on Kerus' head, using that familiar warmth to steady him. It was after the third staircase and, as he found out later on, just down the corridor from the hospital wing, that his blurry vision fogged and the blobs of colour solidified into the Great Hall. Pumpkins, lit from within by candles, floated above the heads of students, laughing expressions carved into them. There was an odd warm feeling spreading through him; happiness.

For the first time that Harry could remember, he heard sound within a vision. A loud bang, the doors to the Entrance Hall, before someone screamed out, "TROLL, in the dungeons…just thought you ought to know", before there was a soft thump. But Harry couldn't See who or what was going on; people taller than him were in his way. And then there was screaming and the happy warmth he'd been feeling vanished, almost like it'd dropped into a dark pit.

His hand on Kerus' head twitched, as his foggy sight retreated and the ordinary blurriness he'd gotten used to now returned. He could see a dark blob before him, and whimpering from another being led away by someone dressed in grey and white, and ventured a guess, "Seamus?"

"Oh, thank Merlin. Here I was thinking that Snape was gonna kill me for you going all weird. Is this because of that potion? Because, well, me and Neville didn't mean it…"

"No," Harry said quickly. "Just a little dizzy 'cos of my sight. It's all blurry; things look weird."

"Okay then, Pomfrey told me to get you in as soon as you responded again. Nev's got loads of boils. Don't know how that works; the potion was to _cure_ them, not create them."

Harry continued to listen to the soft words of the other boy as he was gently led down and through a set of large brown…doors, until he was pushed down onto the edge of a bed. Cool hands held his cheeks and Kerus gave a loud warning growl.

"Oh, hush. If you want me to fix whatever is wrong, I'll have to be touching him."

Harry swallowed, nervous about letting someone near when he could see nothing beyond a vague blob. "It's okay, Ker."

The cool hands shifted and fingers pressed against his temples. "Now, tell me what's wrong?"

"Everything's blurry. And my eyes are starting to sting."

"How bad is the stinging?"

"Like…sort of like muted acid."

The nurse hummed, before she muttered an incantation and the world began to clear up. The pain, however, was still present. In fact, it got worse.

"Ow."

Kerus rumbled from his perch on the bed, "_what are you doing to him?_"

There was barely leashed fury in his voice, but to her credit, the nurse merely tipped Harry's head back a bit and peered into his eyes. "It seems that when you inhaled the gas of the failed potion—yes, Mister Finnigan told me about that—it went straight for the nerves for your eyes. I'll have to keep you here for today, and give you a few potions." She pressed on his shoulders gently and he allowed himself to be manoeuvred down onto the bed. Kerus shifted and stalked up to rest beside him, his large head a comforting weight on his chest. "Now, rest up while I tend to Mister Longbottom."

It was nearly an hour later before Harry shifted from the curled up position he'd ended up in. turning his head cautiously, and experiencing the minimal amount of pain, he blinked and looked over at the bed next to him. "Longbottom?"

Neville sniffled and opened his own eyes, pale blue shying away from intense emerald green. "What?"

"Are you alright?"

"Wh-why do you care?"

Harry blinked, unable to fathom a reason why he wouldn't. "Because you're obviously either in pain or you're upset about something."

"You're a Slytherin."

"I noticed," Harry said, sarcasm coating his voice. "But what does that matter? We've only been here a week."

"Slytherins are-are bad wizards!"

Harry rolled his eyes and relaxed back against the pillows. Kerus opened one gold eye and peered up at him, before he huffed and closed it again. "Right. Of course. Bad wizards all of us, House defines the person and all that crap. You sound like Malfoy!"

Neville stared at him. "Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy?"

"No, his father, Lucius. Of course I am mean Draco bloody Malfoy!"

The Gryffindor shrank back from the biting tone and his hawk familiar gave a click of its beak in warning. "S-sorry."

Sighing, Harry shrugged and looked back over, his eyes bright in the shadows of the room. "S'alright. I'm sorry as well. How's about we start over? I'm Harry Potter."

"N-neville Longbottom."

"Pleasure Neville." Harry turned onto his side ignoring Kerus' annoyed hiss as his warm pillow was removed. "Now, mind telling me why you're so upset? So you stuffed up a potion, doesn't matter really."

"But it's Professor S-snape."

"He really isn't so bad a person. He doesn't like teaching very much, but he owes someone a big favour and this is what they wanted him to do. Besides, I remember my first few potions…must've completely ruined one for hangover cures. I think I actually _gave_ him a headache."

Neville laughed quietly, the shifty nervousness beginning to bleed away. "I'm really not that bad at potions. It's just…"

"Professor Snape scares you, doesn't he?"

The boy nodded, his familiar tucking its head under its wing. "I'm gonna fail Potions," he mumbled.

Harry snickered, the sound causing Neville to look over at him sharply. "Fail?"

"What's so funny about that?"

"You were trained by Auror's! You must have the basics for pretty much everything!"

Pale blue eyes closed slowly. "Only the things they think I needed to know in order to fight, to survive."

Harry blinked. "They gave you all that training? But where did the confidence go?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm confident? All I want to do is avoid the spotlight. Someone else can be their figurehead. I'm nothing more than a clumsy fool."

Harry shook his head. Kerus rose, his nose bumping against Harry's cheek. "_He is sad. But pure..._"

Emerald eyes blinked. "What do you mean?"

The Anistro shook its head and leaped down off the bed, padding silently over to Neville's. Gold eyes watched the hawk, the bird bowing its head, before placing his forepaws on the bed, startling its occupant. "_Tell him, make him understand, that he can touch me._"

"Kerus?"

"_Do it, Harry._"

Neville swallowed, nervously watching the leopard by his side. "H-harry?"

"You can touch him. He wants you to, I think."

Slowly, a shaking pale hand rose and gingerly touched Kerus' black ears. The leopard purred, the sound rumbling around the room. "Merlin…"

"_Little lion, you are more than you believe you are. You need only a chance._"

Neville stared down at the leopard, his touches gradually becoming confident. When he spoke, his voice was soft and filled with wonder, "I don't think I've ever heard a familiar speak to anyone else. And I've never even touched my Nan's. I think I remember touching my parent's but…"

"You can't be sure." Harry sighed, stretching a little. "So, you know loads of stuff no one else does, but you aren't confident you can do it?"

The Gryffindor shook his head, wonder bleeding away to sadness. "I don't want to be able to, to be honest. But…what if something happens?"

Harry tipped his head back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. With a mental sigh, he did something he'd never done since he was seven. He forced a vision. The last time, he'd witnessed the death of his friend's mother, and he'd been terrified of having visions for weeks. He'd even tried to stop them from coming at all. Not that that would ever work.

His vision grew foggy and he blinked, his mind chanting _Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter_ over and over until the very centre of his vision was suddenly very clear, too clear to be his real eyesight. He could see himself and Neville running along a dark corridor, shoes slapping in puddles of water. The corridor opened up into a chamber, a small red haired girl crumpled on the ground and a wavering form of young man standing over her. The vision flashed and suddenly he could see Neville swinging a sword, but a thick tail from a creature he could not see knocked it away, near to where he was standing. '_Grab Ginny Neville!_' He watched himself pick up the sword, the silver blade arcing gracefully through the air to slice into the thick tail, the pained screech of the creature pounding into his ears. As if it was all in slow motion, he watched himself bring the sword up and plunge it through the roof of the creature's mouth even as one of its fangs pierced his own arm.

"Harry! Harry!"

He gasped as the vision vanished, surprised to find himself on the ground, cold and shaking. "Kerus?"

The Anistro pushed at his side, his rumbling purr calming his jittery nerves. "_You are alright, Harry?_"

"Yes, I think so." He swallowed and pushed himself up, shakily holding onto the bed as he stood. "I'm okay, Neville."

Neville watched him carefully and Harry could see how his gaze shifted and became a little more hawk-like then his usual soft eyes. "Are you sure? Should we call Madam Pomfrey?"

"No, no, I'm fine, really." Harry sighed as he flopped back down on the bed. "But here's an idea, Neville, how's about we work on our spell casting, duelling and all that wonderful crap. I'm sure you could teach me heaps, and I could help you be more confident in what you're doing. How's about it?"

Neville blinked at him. "I suppose that could work. But…well, you seem to be good at everything. The Ravenclaws were talking about it."

Harry laughed softly, shrugging one shoulder. "Ah, but Herbology I suck at."

The Gryffindor suddenly perked up. "Herbology? If you could help me with Charms and Potions, I'll help you with Herbology."

Harry looked over at him, emerald gaze calculating. He knew that he was meant to help the Boy Who Lived, but he knew something the other boy didn't. It wasn't something he'd Seen, more a feeling he got from the boy. He'd help him, but he'd also fight against him. "Alright, Neville, you got a deal."

Fate, in his opinion, was not so kind a being.

**A/N:** Good, yes? This has been sitting on my laptop for ages, but I haven't actually had a chance to get it edited and uploaded for…ages. Terribly sorry about all of that but everything's a little hectic at the moment. Looking for a new job in a world where jobs are being cut is hard work, you know? Anyway, review and perk me up!


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